Feb. 1, 1SG7.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



29 



most injurious in neglected museums, devouring the 

 integuments uniting the bones, which soon fall from 

 each other, skins, hairs, and the feathers of birds. 

 The larva is elongate-ovate, thick, somewhat leathery 

 in its texture, and very hairy, especially towards 

 the posterior extremity ; the jaws are very strong, 

 and horny; the six legs are of small size. The 

 hairs upon the body of these larva? are arranged in 

 small bundles along the sides, and the tail furnished 

 on each side with a pair of tufts of larger size, 

 which are laid when at rest upon the back ; but 



'-'•-'-. 



'</.' p, /|. ■■■ v s sW'-i '• ■' i ,. ■ 



m ;- 



Fig. 13. Tail of Larva of Anthrenus, from De Geer. 



when the insect is disturbed, it spreads these out, 

 so as somewhat to resemble a shuttlecock. These 

 hairs are of great service to the larva, enabling it 

 to glide between the fingers when handled, as 

 though covered with oil. The appearance of these 

 larva; under the microscope is very pleasing, the 

 hairs upon the body being discovered to be fur- 

 nished with still more minute hairs; whilst those 

 forming the terminal bristles are individually formed 

 of, a series of miuute conical pieces placed in suc- 

 cession, the base being very slender, and the extre- 

 mity of each hair forming a large oblong knot, 

 placed on a slender footstalk." 



It is to this genus of Anthrenus that the larva 

 called Dermestes at page 230 of vol. i. is referred. 

 There are certainly three British species, but the 

 most common is Anthrenus museorum. 



We have given the characters of the larvae in all 

 the four closely-allied genera, three of which con- 

 tain only one species each, under the impression 

 that it may lead to the closer examination of those 

 also, as it is not improbable that some of the 

 "hairs of Dermestes" mounted for the microscope 

 may be derived from one or other of them. It is 

 pretty clear that none are obtained from the Bacon 

 Beetle, or any other species of the^genus Dermestes. 



We take advantage of this opportunity to correct 

 an error in the scientific name of the " Pencil-tail " 

 (also described in vol. i., p. 230). It should have 

 been Polyxenus. 



THE DEATH WATCH. 



TN the number of Nature and Art for October 

 -*- will be found a very interesting article " con- 

 cerning insects, commonly called Death Watches," 

 by the llev. W. Houghton. I was much surprised 

 on reading the paper, that so many entomo- 

 logists of note should have been unaware of, or 

 altogether denying the fact of, Atropos puhatoria 

 being the author of the ominous sound that has 

 tilled so many superstitious folks with dread. Mr. 

 Houghton says that "being anxious to ascertain 

 whether any living entomologists had personal ex- 

 perience of the noise asserted to be produced by the 

 Atropos puhatoria, in the writings of some natura- 

 lists and denied in those of others, I wrote to Mr. 

 Erederick Smith, to ask whether he had any know- 

 ledge of the matter." The subject was brought by 

 that gentleman before the notice of the Entomolo- 

 gical Society, " but no one had any knowledge of 

 Anobium, Atropos, or any insect tapping," and he 

 himself " was inclined to think that the ticking 

 said to be caused by Atropos puhatoria was 

 scarcely substantiated, as he could not conceive it 

 possible that so soft and delicate a creature could 

 produce any sound whatever." (Science Gossip, 

 Eeb. 1S66.) The same opinion seems to have been 

 shared by our most eminent entomologists, as on 

 referring to Swainson and Shuckard's " Natural 

 History and Classification of Insects," page 357, I 

 find that Mr. Shuckard, in describing the genus 

 Atropos, says, " which contains the so celebrated 

 book -louse, famous for its reputed ticking, whence 

 it has also been called the death-watch ; which is 

 doubtless a fable, as it is more than probable that 

 the noise is produced by an Anobium, for it is scarcely 

 possible that so small and delicate an insect as the 

 Atropos should cause so loud a sound." Mr. West- 

 wood also, in his Entomologist's Text Book, page 

 307, in the article on the " Sense of Hearing," 

 describes the noise made by the death-watch 

 Anobium striatum " by beating the front of its head 

 against the surface upon which it is stationed," but 

 no notice is taken of Atropos ; and at page 36S of 

 the same work, in general description of the order 

 Neuroptera, a figure of Atropos puhatoria is given, 

 the only notice concerning which is that it "is 

 ordinarily found amongst books and papers." 



On the other side we have the evidence of that 

 celebrated entomologist Mr. Doubleday, who in a 

 communication to Mr. Houghton says, from his 

 own observation he felt no doubt that Atropos was 

 one of those insects that produced the sounds in 

 question. There is also the paper by Mr. Noble in 

 Science Gossip for April of this year, in which 

 the " circumstantial evidence " is very strong and 

 almost conclusive. But from the time of Derham 

 up to the present, no naturalist appears to have 

 seen the insect in the act of producing the sound, 



