Cheese mite

Cheese mites are mites which live in food, grain and plant leaves. 

They are sometimes found in flour but prefer cheese.Andrew Solway 2004. What's Living in Your Kitchen? (Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, p. 8 Refrigerated cheese is not usually affected as they prefer warm, damp foods. Cheese mites are used to make certain cheeses. Milbenkäse and Mimolette are two examples.Michael H. Tunick 2014. The Science of Cheese New York: Oxford University Press, p. 228 The action of the mites on the surface of these cheeses adds to the flavor.Thalassa Skinner; Ming Tsai; Laurel Miller 2012. Cheese for dummies. Hoboken: Wiley, p. 154. It also gives them a distinctive appearance. A 2010 SEM study found that Milbenkäse cheese was produced using Tyrolichus casei mites, while Mimolette cheese used Acarus siro mites (also known as flour mites).

References

Category:Cheese
Category:Arachnids