Suidasia nesbitti HUGHES (ACARI: SUIDASIIDAE) AND ITS DAMAGE IN STORED GRAINS

Suidasia nesbitti is an important pest of stored grains and feed on products containing protein, carbohydrates, fats and vitamins, preference for high protein and fat content. It is reported from Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, West Indies, United Kingdom. It feeds on a variety of compounds found in grains, flour, straw, hay, brewer’s yeast, cheese, dried fish and fruit. They prefer flour and broken form because these act as a perfect medium for the growth of the S. nesbitti population. Mite infestation decrease the protein, total soluble sugar, non-reducing sugar, starch and increases the reducing sugar content in stored grains, such as bengal gram, wheat, pearl millet and cowpea. Infestation of S. nesbitti causes germination losses in stored products due to its feeding on the germinal portion of the grains. The present review is an attempt to collect all the available literature on S. nesbitti including its occurrence, preference of food components, biology, role in causing post harvest losses and present systematically under different sub heads.