Cheese Mites
Identification
Cheese mites have soft, hairy cream white bodies with 8 hairless legs and adults grow up to an approximate 0.5mm in length.
Description
With a preference for old cheese to young cheese, these mites also feed on nuts, dried eggs, fruit, flour and tobacco. Cheese mites are capable of contaminating foods to cause skin or gut irritation.
The cheese mite favours warm, moist conditions and eggs mature in 10 days at room temperatures. Females can lay up to 900 eggs in a lifetime at a rate of 20 – 30 a day. Adult cheese mites can live for up to 60 – 70 days.
