psocidæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. An important family of pseudoneuropterous insects, typified by the genus Psocus, having an oval body, a free head, and a small prothorax. The wings when present are of unequal size, the hind pair being smaller. The tarsi are two-or three-jointed. It comprises two subfamilies, the Atropinæ and Psocinæ. The former contains wingless species, such as Atropos divinatoria, the common book-louse, and Clothilla pulsatoria (formerly Atropos pulsatorius), the death-watch, while the latter contains a host of small winged forms which feed upon lichens, fungi, and decaying vegetation. Also Psocina. See cut under death-watch.