Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Death-watch

DEATH-WATCH, or Termes pulsatorium, L. a small insect that harbours chiefly in old wood. It is produced from a very minute white egg, which is hatched in the month of March.

When these vermin first leave their shells, they are scarcely perceptible, without the aid of a microscope: from this diminutive size, they gradually acquire their perfect state, when they are about 5-16ths of an inch in length, and of a dark brown, spotted colour.—They are remarkable for the ticking noise, similar to that of a watch, which is made by the male and female, when wooing each other. This expression of mutual affection was formerly considered, by the superstitious, as a presage of death in the family where it was heard; from which circumstance the insect has received its name.