THE DEATH-WATCH : NOTES AND OBSEKVATIONS. 157 



readily given, as it was also on a few occasions to a quavering 

 note produced by whistling. Suspecting at first that the beetle 

 might be able to feel the vibrations produced by tapping on the 

 table on which it stood, I tested its hearing in other ways before 

 I found out the facts just mentioned. Placed in a little box, on 

 top of a loose pile of cotton-wool, or suspended by a long cotton 

 thread from the ceiling, or floated in a dish of water, the beetle 

 replied to a tapping on the table almost as readily as if it were 

 on the table itself. 



Its readiness to stop, listen as it were, and then begin to tap, 

 when it heard a tapping near it, made ic easy to get the beetle 

 into any position desired in order to watch its movements closely, 

 and whenever I wished I was able to watch its tapping under the 

 microscope. 



A lady present at one of the demonstrations given at a 

 scientific meeting was so impressed by the beetle's performance 

 that she asked me in all seriousness if I had really trained it 

 myself, a fact which should surprise no one who has read George 

 Shaw's account of the same death-watch beetle, which was 

 described by him as P. fatidicus. He says of it that, 

 "ridiculous and even incredible as it may appear, it is an 

 animal that may in some measure be tamed," and then goes on 

 to explain that it does at least give one that idea. 



Having seen it stated by Stackhouse that the death-watch 

 he saw tapping on the bottom of a chair made a distinct impres- 

 sion about the size of a silver penny on the sedge, I have watched 

 carefully to find out if anything of the kind took place. I 

 could see no impression whatever left on a piece of soft blotting- 

 paper placed for the beetle to beat on with its head. Even under 

 the microscope, I could see nothing of the kind, except a loose 

 fibre or two pressed down at the moment the beetle struck the 

 paper. Jenyns, who was more, to be trusted than Stackhouse, 

 has some similar remarks about spots left on the paper of a 

 wall made by the tapping of the beetle. My little beetle always 

 kept its head clean, and I am ready to admit that if it had not 

 there might have been possibilities in the case. 



One of the most interesting observations I made on the 

 beetle came about by chance. In order to get it into a position 

 suitable for watching it closely, I used to direct its movements 

 by interposing the end of a strip of paper whenever it seemed 

 inclined to go the wrong way. Happening on one occasion to 

 touch it on the head, the beetle stopped and began to tap. So, 

 acting on this hint, I went on to rub it with the end of the paper 

 along the wing-cases, first one, then the other. The eft'ect was 

 remarkable, and quite enough to\show that the insect was com- 

 pletely deceived. It would heel over first to one side and then 

 to the other, as the paper rubbed along the elytra, and very soon 

 the ovipositor began to appear, and the sex of the specimen 



