Panesthia is a large genus of burrowing giant cockroaches in the subfamily Panesthiinae. Species of the genus are subsocial and are mainly found in Southeast Asia, coastal East Asia, Australasia, and Indo-Malaysia.

Many species feed on wood, the best-studied being Panesthia angustipennis. Until recently it was believed that Panesthia and other members of Panesthiinae do not rely on the hindgut for wood digestion, but it is now believed that a "fiber-associated microbiome" might be contributing to up to 1/5th of the total xylanase and cellulase activities in the gut of P. angustipennis.

...