Death-watch

Death-watch, a ticking or rapping noise produced by various insects in houses. Being often heard in the quiet of sickness and anxiety, it has been superstitiously regarded as a signal of approaching death. In Britain it is generally the love-signal of the small boring beetle (Anobium, see BORERS), of a brownish colour, and about $\backslash frac\{1\}\{4\}$ inch in length. Various species frequent wood, furniture, &c. A. pertinax, A. tessellatum, and A. striatum are all common death-watches. Some other insects besides Anobium make tapping noises, notably the Giant Cockroach (q.v.) or drummer. One of the book-lice (Atropos pulsatorius), in a very different order, used to be regarded erroneously as the 'death-watch.'