Borer insect ( beetle species Xestobium refuvillosum ) that tends to be small (less than 0.5 in., or 19 mm) and cylindrical.
When disturbed, it usually pulls in its legs and plays dead. It makes a ticking or clicking sound by bumping its head or jaws against the sides of the tunnels it creates as it bores into old furniture and wood, a sound that, according to superstition, forecasts a death.