What insect order includes cockroaches and termites?

The insect order that includes cockroaches and termites is Blattodea.

Blattodea once referred primarily to cockroaches, while termites were traditionally placed in their own order, Isoptera. Molecular and evolutionary research showed that termites evolved from within the cockroach lineage, so modern classifications place both groups in Blattodea. This makes termites highly specialized, social relatives of cockroaches rather than a completely separate lineage.

Cockroaches and termites look very different because they occupy different lifestyles. Cockroaches are generally flattened, hard-bodied insects that often live alone or in loose aggregations. Termites are usually pale, soft-bodied, and eusocial, living in colonies organized into workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals.

The order contains roughly 4,400 described cockroach species and about 3,000 termite species. A frequent quiz mistake is choosing Isoptera: that name remains familiar in older classifications, but it is no longer generally treated as a separate order in modern taxonomy.