DEATH-WATCH. 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Antennae filiform ; with the three last articulations longer 
than the others. 
Thorax nearly round, with a distinct margin into which 
the head is occasionally received. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Ptinus Pulsator. Pt. cylindricus opacus rugosus maculis griseis 
adspersus. Linn. Syst. Nat. Gmel. 1. 
p. 1605. 
Of a cylindrical figure., with a rough dark- 
coloured body marked with grayish spots. 
Death-watch. . Ptinus fatidicus. Shaw Gen. Zool. 6. 
p. 33. pi. 8. Nat. Misc. 3. 804. 
Superstition has for ages attached to this little 
insect the power of foretelling the approaching 
death of some friend or relative ; and so strongly is 
the idea of its prophetic warning impressed upon 
the minds of many, that even in these enlightened 
days they still maintain their opinion, and refuse to 
divest themselves of their prejudice. These dreadful 
forebodings, conveyed perhaps from the head of the 
bed, or from behind the paper of the room, are oc- 
