Deathwatch beetle: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the deathwatch beetle lives – recorded in 9 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Xestobium rufovillosum
Group	Beetles
Found in	9 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Coleoptera
Family	Anobiidae

Where does the deathwatch beetle live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the deathwatch beetle in 9 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the deathwatch beetle?

The deathwatch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum) is an insect in the order Coleoptera and the family Anobiidae, genus Xestobium. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the deathwatch 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 averages 7 mm (0.3 in) in length. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old wood inside buildings, trees, or tunnels left behind by previous larvae. The larvae bore into the timber, feeding for up to ten years before pupating, after which they emerge from the wood as adult beetles. Timber that has been damp and is affected by fungal decay is soft enough for the larvae to chew through. They obtain nourishment by using enzymes present in their gut to digest the cellulose and hemicellulose in the wood.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Deathwatch beetle (revision 1376654139), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1074662 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).