Cheese mites (for instance '' Tyrophagus casei'' or other species) are

mite Mites are small arachnids (eight-legged arthropods). Mites span two large orders of arachnids, the Acariformes and the Parasitiformes, which were historically grouped together in the subclass Acari, but genetic analysis does not show clear e ...

s that are used to produce such

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

s as ',

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

and

Mimolette Mimolette is a cheese traditionally produced around the city of Lille, France. In France it is also known as ''Boule de Lille'' after its city of origin, or ''vieux Hollande'' because it was originally inspired by the Dutch Edam cheese. Descrip ...

. The action of the living mites on the surface of these cheeses contributes to the flavor and gives them a distinctive appearance. A 2010 scanning electron microscope study found that ''Milbenkäse'' cheese was produced using '' Tyrophagus casei'' mites, while Mimolette cheese used ''

Acarus siro The flour mite, ''Acarus siro'', a pest of stored grains and animal feedstuffs, is one of many species of grain and flour mites. An older name for the species is ''Tyroglyphus farinae''. The flour mite, which is pale greyish white in colour wit ...

'' mites (also known as flour mites). Mimolette cheese, in particular, has live cheese mites in its rind which is thought to contribute to the cheese's distinct rind texture. Some cheese mite species, such as ''Tyrophagus putrescentiae'' and ''Acarus siro,'' are

mycophagous Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and othe ...

and the fungus species they digest are determined by the digestive enzymatic properties accordingly of each species.De Dea Lindner, J. (2018). Stored products mites in cheese ripening: Health aspects, technological and regulatory challenges in Brazil. ''Journal of Stored Products Research.'', ''76'', 116–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jspr.2018.01.010

Gallery

Acarus siro 1.ogv, A video of cheese mites (Acarus siro) forming the rind of a mimolette cheese. Mimolette1.jpg, Mimolette cheese displaying the textured crust caused by the mites Milbekéis.jpg, Milbekéis, a German cheese with cheese mites Casu Marzu cheese.jpg,

Casu martzu (; literally 'rotten/putrid cheese'), sometimes spelled , and also called , and in Sardinian, is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live insect larvae (maggots). A variation of this cheese exists also in Corsica (Franc ...

, a rotten cheese from Sardinia, Italy, is a traditional sheep milk cheese that contains live (

maggot A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies. ...

s) with cheese mites

References

Microscopic animals Acari and humans Mites as food Cheese Arthropod common names {{acari-stub

Gallery

See also

References