In the larvae of the little timber-beetles and their allies (Ptinidae), including the "death-watches" whose tapping in old furniture is often heard, a marked shortening of the legs and reduction in the size of the head accompany the whitening and softening of the cuticle. This shortening of the legs is still more marked in the larvae of the Longhorn Beetles (Cerambycidae) burrowing in the wood of trees or felled trunks; here the legs are reduced to small vestiges.