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SOME FIELD HABITATS OF MITES OF STORED FOOD PRODUCTS
Author(s) -
GRIFFITHS D. A.
Publication year - 1960
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1960.tb03512.x
Subject(s) - biology , mite , acaridae , pest analysis , grassland , acariformes , horticulture , botany , ecology
Forty‐seven samples were collected from stacks of hay, corn and straw and from permanent grassland in the East Midland counties of England. The living mites were extracted and all except the Oribatei were identified. Records were kept of the occurrence of those mites associated with stored food products, of the mites Forcellinia fungivora Oud. and Alliphis halleri Can., and of the beetle Enicmus minutus L. Fifty‐two species of mites were identified of which twenty‐two were associated with stored food and food stores. Twenty‐one stored‐product species were collected from hay‐ and strawstacks and five from grassland. Acarus siro L., a major pest of stored cereals and cereal products, was the dominant mite in stacks and was also found in grassland samples. Tyrophagus longior Gerv. was similarly distributed and occurred almost as frequently. The motile hypopial stage of Acarus siro was found in 43% of the stack samples; it was attached to mites, beetles and other invertebrates. Its distribution pattern resembled that of the fungus beetle Enicmus minutus. Tyrophagus palmarum Oud., an uncommon stored‐product mite, was the dominant species collected from grassland samples. It is concluded that: ( a ) all the mites commonly associated with foodstuffs stored indoors are present in the outdoor habitat afforded by stacks; ( b ) Acarus siro and Tyrophagus longior are dominant in stacks and both appear to be field dwellers; ( c ) T. palmarum appears to be a successful field dweller and its occasional association with stored food may be accidental; ( d ) the dominant warehouse partnership of Acarus siro and Glycyphagus destructor does not occur outdoors; here Tyrophagus longior replaces Glycyphagus destructor ; ( e ) species of the family Glycyphagidae appear to live mainly in haystacks sited in stackyards; and ( f ) considering how the mites were acquired, grainstacks standing in the open field have a peculiar combination of dominants, namely: Acarus siro, Tyrophagus longior, T. palmarum and Alliphis halleri.