Cheese-mite

Cheese-mite (Tyroglyphus siro), familiar on old dry cheese. It is a true Mite, and belongs to the division without special breathing organs. The body is rounded behind, conical in front, with a well-marked groove between the second and third pairs of legs, and with relatively long smooth hairs. The male differs slightly from the female, for instance in the possession of two posterior suctorial pits. The larvæ have only three pairs of legs, and pass through an immature eight-legged 'nymph' stage before becoming like the adults. The cheese-mite is not confined to cheese, but attacks dried fruits and the like. See ACARINA (with cut), ARACHNIDA, MITE; also Michael, Journ. Roy. Microscop. Soc. 1884, 1885.