Comparison of the fecundity of three species of grain store mites on fungal diets

The egg production of isolated pairs of Acarus siro, Glycyphagus destructor and Tyrophagus longior fed on a control diet of wheatgerm and yeast was compared with that on mycelial pellets from shake cultures of Cladosporium cladosporiodes, Aspergillus repens, A. ruber and Penicillium cyclopium as well as spores of P. cyclopium and A. repens . The mites always produced fewer eggs on the fungal diets than on the ideal diet. Tyrophagus longior usually did best of the three mite species on the fungal diets, and G. destructor worst. Aspergillus ruber proved the most suitable fungus for all mite species, while C. cladosporiodes was the least suitable. Spores were a less suitable diet than mycelial pellets from shake cultures, which were predominantly mycelium.