Meet the Philippines’ and and only ‘Ipis Lord’ 

UPLB’s Cristian Lucanas has discovered 15 Philippine-endemic-species—and named them after “Lord of the Rings” characters 

A cockroach—especially a flying one—makes most of us run away, if not grab a slipper or an insecticide. But for a Filipino entomologist, it’s a national treasure. Armed with a headlamp and bare hands, Cristian Lucanas of UP Los Baños spends his nights trekking through rainforests to find what others fear. According to an Agence France-Presse feature, he has already discovered 15 new species endemic to the Philippines—earning him the nickname “Ipis Lord.”

Beyond the “kadiri” factor, Lucanas highlighted the importance of these insects. Like earthworms, cockroaches are “detritivores” that break down dead organic matter to fertilize our soil. Without them, our ecosystems would stall; birds and spiders would lose a primary food source, and plants would absorb less carbon dioxide, potentially worsening global warming.

He said the Philippines is a massive “ipis” hotspot, home to about 130 known species—three-fourths of which are found nowhere else on Earth. He believes at least 200 more local varieties are still waiting to be documented: “For the longest time, no one was studying them.”

But Lucanas brings a geeky twist to his work. A lifelong J.R.R. Tolkien fan, Lucanas names his new discoveries after characters from “The Lord of the Rings,” including “Valar,” “Hobbitoblatta,” and “Nazgul.” It’s a fitting tribute for an insect that has survived for millions of years—though he’s quick to debunk the myth that they’d be the sole survivors of a nuclear war.

The Ipis Lord, ironically, still keeps an insecticide in his office. He uses it to protect the museum’s 250,000 preserved insect specimens from being eaten by live, hungry cockroaches. His expertise is so rare that even the country’s biggest fast-food chains and pest control firms seek his advice, desperate to identify invasive species like the “”German cockroach”” raiding their commissaries.

Despite their “indestructible” reputation, Lucanas warned that our native species are under threat as human encroachment and tourism destroy their habitats in mountains and caves. Some species recorded during the Spanish colonial era haven’t been seen anymore, potentially lost to extinction before we could even understand them.

For Lucanas, the mission is to learn more about cockroaches and protect them.