236 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



to be given by my friend who first found it in this country at his 

 own time and convenience.— Geo. Elisha; 122, Shepherdess 

 Walk, City Road, September 18, 1884. 



Epunda nigra in Perthshire. — During my stay in Rannoch 

 I captured a fine specimen (female) of E. nigra in the Black 

 Wood. I got a male in the same locality some seasons ago. I am 

 told that they are of infrequent occurrence in that district, so 

 that I should like to record them in the 'Entomologist.' We 

 have had a tolerable season in Rannoch for some insects, but not 

 nearly as good as many summers I have spent there. Larvae seem 

 veiy scarce indeed; even many of the common kinds were hardly to 

 be found. — Elizabeth Cross; Edinburgh, September 18, 1884. 



The Death-Watch and its Sound. — I feel somewhat sur- 

 prised by the remarks of three correspondents, seeing that within 

 the last fifty or sixty years several reliable articles on this subject 

 have appeared in various works. When a young lad I had in my 

 bedroom a slight box or case made of paper (not pasteboard), in 

 form similar to the tins generally used for packing cream, &c. ; 

 this case contained only a desiccated seed-vessel of the Stra- 

 monium. One night for the first time I heard a ticking sound 

 much like a watch ; there being no watch in the place, I thought 

 it came from an adjoining room, but no watch was there; and 

 having heard of "death-watches," I concluded this must be one, 

 therefore commenced a search for it, and soon discovered the 

 sound proceeded from the Stramonium-case. Nothing could be 

 seen on merely looking into the box, which was then removed 

 into another room, but, wherever placed, the ticking continued to 

 come from the Stramonium-case; still nothing could be seen. 

 My father suggested holding it to the fire to see if any living 

 thing would make an appearance when the place became "too hot" 

 for it; in a few seconds a fine female Atropos jndsatorius rushed 

 out from the Stramonium in an excited state ; no other creature 

 could be found, and the ticking in the box was heard no more. 

 I am fully convinced that the A. pulsatorius causes the watch- 

 ticking sound, though at present I have not been able actually to 

 see it perform. This insect is the Termes pulsatoi'ium, Linn.= 

 Psocus pulsatorius, Latr. I read that the Termites or white ants 

 produce a sound by tapping with their mandibles. The Death- 

 watch beetle (Ptinus fatidicus, Linn. — Anobium tesselatum, Fabr.) 

 is a very different insect. I had read accounts of this beetle and 



