On Sept. 13, 2024, researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute announced they had sequenced the genome of the Deathwatch Beetle for the first time. Deathwatch Beetles are attracted to damp wood such as the British warship HMS Victory.

Researchers at the University of Oxford, Cranfield University, and the National Museum of the Royal Navy have joined forces to further the study of the Deathwatch Beetle. Their aim was to assist with ongoing conservation efforts, better understand the beetle’s behaviour, biology and preserve the historic HMS Victory.

The Deathwatch Beetle sample from HMS Victory was sequenced as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project. The project aims to sequence the genomes of 70,000 species of eukaryotic organisms in Britain and Ireland.