deathwatch beetle

deathwatch beetle

n. Any of several wood-boring beetles of the family Anobiidae that make a clicking sound with the head from inside furniture and other wooden structures. The sound has traditionally been regarded as a portent of death.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

deathwatch beetle - bores through wood making a ticking sound popularly thought to presage deathXestobium rufovillosum, deathwatchbeetle - insect having biting mouthparts and front wings modified to form horny covers overlying the membranous rear wingsAnobiidae, family Anobiidae - deathwatch beetles

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