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A shiny brown Madagascar hissing cockroach on a log.
Photo: Almabes, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Gromphadorhina portentosa

A large, wingless cockroach from Madagascar that hisses by pushing air out of its breathing holes.

🐞 Insects
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About the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

Madagascar hissing cockroaches are among the largest cockroaches, 2 to 4 inches long. They are shiny brown and oval, with no wings, and males have large horn-like bumps. They live in rotting logs and leaf litter on the island of Madagascar, and at night they look for fruit and plant material to eat. They can even climb smooth glass.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Gromphadorhina portentosa[1]
Size
2 to 4 inches long.[1]
Diet
Mainly fruit and plant material.[1]
Habitat
Rotting logs, leaf litter and other debris.[1]
Where it lives
Madagascar.[1]
Group life
Nocturnal.[1]
Conservation status
Common; not endangered. Not assessed by the IUCN.[1]

Fun facts

  • It's believed to be the only insect that hisses.[1]
  • Hissing cockroaches can climb smooth glass.[1]
  • Males have horn-like bumps on their heads.[1]

Vocabulary

spiracle
A small breathing hole on the side of an insect's body.
antennae
A pair of long feelers on an insect's head used to touch and smell.
leaf litter
Fallen leaves on the forest floor.
insect
A small animal with six legs and a body in three parts: head, thorax and abdomen.
nocturnal
Active mainly at night.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Madagascar Hissing Cockroach.” https://www.sfzoo.org/madagascar-hissing-cockroach/ (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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