deathwatch beetle
Timber-destroying clicking insect
A deathwatch beetle is a beetle that infests and destroys wood.
The name arises from the beetle’s habit of making a tapping sound that is said to have been heard in the death chambers of English kings, perhaps because the beetles infested the wooden beams in the rooms.
Timber-eating beetle larva
- infestationPest takeover situation
- borerTunneling tool or insect
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- rotOrganic breakdown process
joist · beam · rafter · structural · hardwood · oak · furniture · antique
Baseless belief in omens
- portentSign of future calamity
- harbingerOne who foreshadows
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- vigilPurposeful nighttime wakefulness
deathbed · sickroom · Edgar Allan Poe · macabre · eerie · haunting · legend · premonition
Species-specific courtship signal
- headbangingViolent rhythmic skull movement
- clickingMaking short sharp sounds
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
- knockingStriking to announce presence
rhythm · nocturnal · courtship · signal · vibration · audible · rafters · listening
Immature metamorphosing creatures
- woodborerInsect that tunnels timber
- antennaeSensory appendages on insects
- coleopteraOrder containing beetles
- entomologyStudy of insects
arthropod · invertebrate · exoskeleton · chitin · thorax · abdomen · metamorphosis · mandibles
woodworm
Timber-eating beetle larva
- infestationPest takeover situation
- borerTunneling tool or insect
- decayGradual organic breakdown
rot · joist · beam · rafter · structural · hardwood · oak · furniture · antique · frass
superstition
Baseless belief in omens
- portentSign of future calamity
- harbingerOne who foreshadows
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
vigil · deathbed · sickroom · Edgar Allan Poe · macabre · eerie · haunting · legend · premonition · fate
mating call
Species-specific courtship signal
- headbangingViolent rhythmic skull movement
- clickingMaking short sharp sounds
- drummingPercussive rhythm-making
knocking · rhythm · nocturnal · courtship · signal · vibration · audible · rafters · listening · silence
larvae
Immature metamorphosing creatures
- woodborerInsect that tunnels timber
- antennaeSensory appendages on insects
- coleopteraOrder containing beetles
entomology · arthropod · invertebrate · exoskeleton · chitin · thorax · abdomen · metamorphosis · mandibles · segmented
deathwatch beetletermite
Wood-devouring social insect
carpenter ant · carpenter bee · bark beetle · woodwasp · longhorn beetle
death, watch, beetle, deaths, deathly, deadly, dead, die, dying