How Did The Deathwatch Beetle Get Its Name?

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I must admit that very few insects have a name as interesting as the "deathwatch beetle". These little beetles are dangerous pest given that their larvae (young) eat wood. The larvae leave a network of tunnels inside that makes the wood very fragile. It is said that if the insects get into the timbers holding up a house, the beetles can actually make it fall down. 

The deathwatch beetles name comes from the way the beetles tap or tick out messages while feeding on wood. The noises are very quiet, and according to tradition they are heard when people wait in silence around the bed of a dying person. The beetle’s taps were thought to be the ticks of a clock counting down to the end of the person’s life …