''Hadrobregmus pertinax'' is a species of
woodboring beetle
The term woodboring beetle encompasses many species and families of beetles whose larval or adult forms eat and destroy wood (i.e., are xylophagous). In the woodworking industry, larval stages of some are sometimes referred to as woodworms. The ...
within the genus ''
'' of the family
Ptinidae
Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes spider beetles and deathwatch beetle, as well as the Cigarette beetle, cigare ...
. The adult is black, with yellow hairs at the back corners of its head, and is 4–5 mm long. The larva is white, about 5 mm long, and lives in decaying wood.
The larval stage lasts many years. The Finnish name is "kuolemankello", literally the "clock of death", which comes from the sound resembling the ticking of a clock, made by the male striking its head against the surface of the wood in order to attract a mate.
It is the most destructive insect of buildings in Finland, where it survives the long winters in below-freezing temperatures.
Because the larva lives in decaying wood, its presence indicates
moisture damage. Resolution of the moisture problem will cause the beetle to leave.
See also
*
Death watch beetle
The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...
*
Priest killer
Notes
External links
Fauna Europaea: Hadrobregmus pertinax
Ptinidae
Beetles described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Bostrichoidea-stub