Panesthia is a large genus of burrowing giant cockroach in the subfamily Panesthiinae.

[1][2] It is subsocial and its species are mainly found in Southeast Asia, coastal East Asia, Australasia, and Indo-Malaysia.

[2][3] 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,[4] 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.