Jan Hubert
Crop Research Institute, Czech Republic

Series: Animal Science, Issues and Research
BISAC: SCI070000

Stored product mites penetrate into human environments from the soil through bird and rodent nests and become unwanted inhabitants in houses. They infest stored food and animal feed including plant material such as grain, dried fruits, cheeses, dried fish, etc. The pest importance consists of; (i) direct consumption of human food, animal feed or other products changing the quality of the infested products; (ii) interaction with microorganisms, i.e. fungi of mycotoxin importance or pathogenic bacteria; (iii) production of hazardous compounds such as allergens that are of high medicinal importance. The pest importance of mites lies in their small size which is almost naked to the human eye, high metabolisms leading to fast reproduction and feces production in suitable temperature and humidity conditions. (Imprint: Nova)