Cryptocercus

Cryptocercus is a genus of Dictyoptera

Dictyoptera

Dictyoptera includes three groups of polyneopterous insects - cockroaches , termites and mantids . While all modern Dictyoptera have short ovipositors, the oldest fossils of Dictyoptera have long ovipositors, much like members of the Orthoptera.The use of the term Dictyoptera has changed over the...

 (cockroaches and allies) in the family Cryptocercidae, of which this genus is the only member. Species are known as wood roaches or brown-hooded cockroaches.

Cryptocercus is a genus of Dictyoptera

Dictyoptera

Dictyoptera includes three groups of polyneopterous insects - cockroaches , termites and mantids . While all modern Dictyoptera have short ovipositors, the oldest fossils of Dictyoptera have long ovipositors, much like members of the Orthoptera.The use of the term Dictyoptera has changed over the...

 (cockroaches and allies) in the family Cryptocercidae, of which this genus is the only member. Species are known as wood roaches or brown-hooded cockroaches.
They are subsocial xylophagous insects, found in North America

North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...

.

Since 1996, DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information...

 studies have led to the North American species C. punctulatus being divided into 5 separate species, bringing the world-wide species count to seven.

Cryptocercus is especially notable for sharing numerous characteristics with termites, and phylogenetic studies have shown that this genus is more closely related to termites than it is to other cockroaches.