Death-watch-beetle
Guides
Anobiini
death-watch beetles
Anobiini is a tribe of beetles within the family Ptinidae, commonly known as death-watch beetles. The tribe contains at least 6 genera and approximately 20 described species. Members of this tribe are wood-boring beetles known for their association with timber and wooden structures. The common name "death-watch" derives from the tapping sounds produced by some species, historically associated with superstitions about impending death.
Episernus trapezoideus
Episernus trapezoideus is a small beetle species in the family Ptinidae (death-watch and spider beetles). It occurs in northwestern North America, with confirmed records from Alaska and British Columbia. The species was described by Fall in 1905. Available information on its biology and ecology is extremely limited.
Euceratocerus gibbifrons
death-watch beetle
Euceratocerus gibbifrons is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It was described by White in 1960. The species is known from North America. Like other members of Ptinidae, it is associated with wood-boring habits.
Gastrallini
death-watch beetles
Gastrallini is a tribe of death-watch beetles within the family Ptinidae. The tribe contains at least four genera: Gastrallus, Falsogastrallus, Hemigastrallus, and Mimogastrallus. Members are wood-boring beetles, with some species known to infest seasoned timber and wooden structures. The genus Gastrallus includes species of economic concern as pests of hardwoods.
Gastrallus marginipennis
death-watch beetle
Gastrallus marginipennis is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It was described by LeConte in 1879. The species occurs in North America, with distribution records from British Columbia, Canada. As a member of the death-watch beetles, it belongs to a group known for the distinctive tapping sounds produced by males to attract females.
Hadrobregmus notatus
Marked Death-watch Beetle
Hadrobregmus notatus is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It is found in Eastern Canada and the Eastern United States. The species has been documented in provinces including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario in Canada. As a member of the death-watch beetles, it belongs to a group known for their association with wood and structural timber.
Oligomerus alternans
death-watch beetle
Oligomerus alternans is a death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae, described by LeConte in 1865. It is known from North America, with confirmed records from Ontario and Québec in Canada. The species is rarely encountered, with only five observations documented on iNaturalist. Its taxonomic status is marked as doubtful in some databases due to limited study.
Oligomerus sericans
death-watch beetle
Oligomerus sericans is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It was first described by Melsheimer in 1846. The species is found in North America, with records from Canada (Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Québec) and the United States.
Platybregmus
Platybregmus is a genus of death-watch beetles in the family Ptinidae, established by Fisher in 1934. The genus contains at least one described species, P. canadensis. Death-watch beetles in this family are associated with wood-boring habits and are known for the tapping sounds produced by some species.
Priobium
death-watch beetles
Priobium is a genus of wood-boring beetles in the family Ptinidae (formerly Anobiidae), commonly referred to as death-watch beetles. The genus occurs in western North America and Europe, with species that bore into coniferous wood. Adults lack the distinctly clubbed antennae seen in some related genera. Larval development occurs within dead or dying conifer wood.
Priobium punctatum
Priobium punctatum is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It was described by LeConte in 1859. The species is known from North America. It belongs to a group of beetles commonly associated with wood-boring habits, though specific details for this species remain limited.
Salebriaria equivoca
Salebriaria equivoca is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Anobiidae. It belongs to a genus of small, wood-boring beetles found in North America. Like other anobiids, larvae develop in dead or decaying wood, contributing to nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. The species is part of the subfamily Ernobiinae, which includes beetles associated with hardwood substrates.
Trichodesma cristata
death-watch beetle
Trichodesma cristata is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae. It is a small beetle found in North America, with records from British Columbia, Canada. The species was described by Thomas Lincoln Casey Jr. in 1890. Like other members of the family Ptinidae, it is associated with wood-boring habits.
Trichodesma gibbosa
Gibbous Death-watch Beetle
Trichodesma gibbosa is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae, found in North America. The common name "gibbous" refers to a humpbacked or convex body shape. Death-watch beetles are known for the distinctive tapping sounds produced by males to attract mates, though this specific behavior has not been documented for T. gibbosa.
Trichodesma sordida
death-watch beetle
Trichodesma sordida is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae, first described by George Henry Horn in 1894. It belongs to a genus characterized by distinctive body hair patterns. The species is native to North America. Very little specific information about its biology or ecology has been published.
Trichodesma texana
Trichodesma texana is a death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae, described by Schaeffer in 1903. It belongs to a genus of small wood-boring beetles commonly associated with dead or decaying wood. The species is known from North America, though specific ecological details remain poorly documented. Like other members of Ptinidae, it likely plays a role in wood decomposition.
Xeranobium
death-watch beetles
Xeranobium is a genus of death-watch beetles in the family Ptinidae, established by Fall in 1905. The genus contains approximately 13 described species. Death-watch beetles (family Ptinidae) are wood-boring beetles known for the distinctive tapping sounds produced by males to attract mates. Members of Xeranobium share the general characteristics of this group, though species-level details remain limited in available literature.
Xeranobium cinereum
death-watch beetle
Xeranobium cinereum is a species of death-watch beetle in the family Ptinidae, described by Horn in 1894. It is native to North America. The genus Xeranobium belongs to a group of beetles commonly associated with wood-boring habits, though specific details for this species remain limited in published literature.