392 HISTOilY OP 



I shall end this account of the beetle tribe with the history of 

 an animal which cannot properly be ranked under this species, 

 and yet cannot be more methodically ranged under any other. 

 This is the insect that forms and resides in the gall-nut, the 



The Death-watch, or Ptinus, is a dusky or somewhat hairy insect, witli 

 irregular brownish spots, about a quarter of an inch in length. Notvvith. 

 standing its smallness, tliis creature is often the cause of serious alarm 

 among the lower classes of people, from the noise that it makes at a certain 

 time of the year, resembling the ticking of a watch. From this it has its 

 name ; for, whenever this faculty is exerted, it is esteemed portentive of 

 death to some one of the family in the house where it is heard. It is chiefly 

 in the advanced state of spring that this insect commences its noise, which 

 is no more than a call or signal by which they aie mutually attracted to 

 each other ; and it may be considered as analogous te the call of birds. 

 This noise does not arise from the voice, but from the insect's heating on 

 any hard substance with the shield or fore-part of the head. The general 

 number of successive distinct strokes is from seven to nine, or eleven. 

 Ihese are given in pretty quick succession, and are repeated at uncertain 

 intervals; and in old houses, Avhere the insects are numerous, they may be 

 heard, if the weather be warm, every hour in the day. The noise exactly 

 resembles that made by beating with the nail upon a table. The in-ect be- 

 ing difficult to discover, from its obscure grayish brown colour, nearly re- 

 sembling that of decayed wood, it is not always eiisy to say from what 

 exactly the sound proceeds. 



Mr Stackhouse observed carefully the manner of its beating. He says 

 the insect raises itself on its hinder legs, and with the body somewhat in- 

 clined, beats its head with great force and agility against the place on 

 which it stands. One of them, on a sedge-bottomed chair, exerted so much 

 force, that its strokes were impressed and visible in the exterior coat of the 

 sedge, for a space equal to that of a silver penny. Mr Stackhouse took this 

 insect and put it into a box. On the following day he opened the box, and 

 set it in the sun. It seemed very brisk, and crept about with great activity 

 on the bits of sedge and rotten wood, till at hu't getting to the end of the 

 pieces, it extended its wings, and was about to take flight ; he shut down 

 the lid, when it withdrew them, and remained quiet. He kept it by him 

 about a fortnight. 



Strange as it may appear, this little animal is capable of being tamed. Dr 

 Derham kept a male aud female together in a bo.x for about three weeks 

 and by imitating their noise, (beating with his nail, or the point of a pen, on 

 a table or board,) he made them beat whenever he pleased, and they «oiild 

 not only answer very readily, but even continued their beatings as long as 

 required At the end of this time one of them died, soon after which the 

 other gnawed its way out and escaped. 



The Death-watch Termes.—T\ns, insect, which is sometimes mistaken for 

 the ptinus just mentioned, is of a very different tribe, and about a tenth of 

 an inch long. At first sight it has greatly the appearance of a louse : its 

 mouth, however, with a glass, is seen to be reddish, and its eyes are yellow. 

 The antennae are sharply pointed, and somewhat long. It is sometimes, 

 though very rarely, observed to have wings. 



