Dry dog food integrity and mite strain influence the density-dependent growth of the stored-product mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridida)

Abstract

The infestation of foodstuffs by mites is connected to health risks and economic losses. The cosmopolitan stored-product mite Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank, 1781) is an emerging and predominant pest of dry dog food. In this study, the influences on mite population growth of 1) the different dry dog food kernels present in the package; 2) the integrity of the dry dog food kernel, whether intact or crushed; 3) the initial population density of 10 or 100 specimens; and 4) the four mite strains used were investigated under laboratory conditions. The population growth tests were performed for 28 d at 85% relative humidity and 25°C. The intrinsic growth rates of the mites were compared. The population growth was higher on the brown and green kernels than on the red and white kernels. The kernel integrity affected the population growth, and the integrity effect was highly influenced by the initial mite population density. The mites showed density-dependent growth in three of the four mite strains tested. The initial population density changed the population growth ranking among the mite strains, thereby indicating strain-specific density-dependent growth. The results of this study have important implications for predictive models of stored-product mite populations in dry dog food. One practical recommendation is that the growth of mites should be considered with regard to the mite strains and according to the strain-specific density dependent growth. Next, the integrity of the kernels should be maintained because disrupted or crushed kernels promote increases in mite populations.