CH. VIII.] COLEOPTEROUS INSECTS. 137 



than 8,000,000 of grubs have been destroyed, or at 

 least prevented from being hatched, by this single 

 family of jays." 



That remarkable insect commonly known by the 

 name of the death-watch, under which, however, 

 several insects are confounded, has been the cause 

 of more terror to mankind than any thing in nature 

 of equal bulk : its size does not exceed a quarter of 

 an inch, and the colour is very similar to decayed 

 wood, in which the animal lives. 



It has been considered a portentive of death to 

 some one of the family in the house where it is 

 heard, though the philosopher and naturalist may 

 smile at this absurd idea : " Yet," says Sir Thomas 

 Brown, " the person who could eradicate this error 

 from the minds of the people, would save many a 

 cold sweat from the meticulous head of nurses and 

 grandmothers." This vulgar error no doubt gave 

 rise to the following lines of Swift : — 



" A woodworm 

 That lies in old wood, like a hare in her form, 

 With teeth or with claw, it will bite or will scratch ; 

 And chamber-maids christen this worm a death-watch — 

 Because, like a watch, it always cries click: 

 Then wo be to those in the house who are sick — 

 For, sure as a gun, they would give up the ghost 

 If the maggot cries click, when it scratches the post : 

 But, a kettle of scalding hot water injected, 

 InfaUibly cures the timber affected : 

 The omen is broken, the danger is over, 

 ' The maggot will die, and the sick will recover." 



In old houses, where these ominous insects 

 abound, they may be heard during the day, as the 

 spring advances, to call to one another; which call, 

 if no answer be returned, the insect repeats in a dif- 

 ferent place. This sharp ticking, which by its dis- 

 tinctness quickly fixes the attention, is performed 

 by raising itself upon its hind-legs, and then, with its 

 body a little inclined, it strikes its head with great 

 force and agility on the plane of position, and its 

 M2 



