310 OUR HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



thinking that if they were but a little larger, they might 

 be made pets of, and become quite companionable. One 

 habit they have which is extremely curious. After 

 running about for a time, they will suddenly stop, arch 

 up the body, and raising one hind-leg, bend it under the 

 arched body, and, like the ear- wig, turn it round towards 

 the mouth, pressing the foot close against the jaws ; 

 what they do with it there it is difficult to make out, but 

 they remain in this position for some seconds, and seem 

 to be occupied in nibbling at the foot, like a dog biting 

 the nails of its hind-foot, and are apparently either 

 cleaning it or using it to clean the jaws and other parts 

 immediately round the mouth. That a /ore-foot should 

 be used in this way would not be at all surprising, but 

 it is certainly a curious acrobatic feat thus to employ a 

 hind-foot. 



The most interesting circumstance connected with the 

 book-louse is the reputation it has of being a " death- 

 watch," i.e., of producing a ticking sound, formerly 

 believed to be of ominous import, and to prognosti- 

 cate the speedy death of some inmate of the house in 

 which it occurs. The beetle, Xestobium tessellatum, 

 which tunnels into the woodwork of old houses, pro- 

 duces, as we have already seen, such ticking sounds, and 

 is the true " death-watch," the tappings of which were 

 for a long time regarded with awe, and have grievously 

 frightened many a superstitious soul. But the present 

 insect, which is an altogether different creature, has also 

 been credited with a similar habit, and there has no 

 doubt been much confusion between the two, as both 

 have been called "death-watch." The Rev. William 

 Derham of Upminster was the first in this country to 

 place on record statements attributing such noises to 

 Atropos. He communicated two papers on the subject 



