Tarsonemid Mites in Danish House Dust

Abstract

From a study of 98 typical Danish city apartments it was found that pyroglyphid and tarsonemid mites dominated the housedust acarofauna. Both groups of mites showed a remarkable similarity in their occurrence and dependence on the microclimate. Room air humidities above 7 g water/kg dry air involved the highest densities. Below this limit only background contamination appeared. At least 14 distinct forms of tarsonemid mites were found, with Tarsonemus floricolus Can. and Fanz., 1876 as the dominating species. As tarsonemid mites were found regularly rather than occasionally, these mites may be responsible for at least a part of the cases of [human] housedust allergy that cannot be ascribed to the content of Dermatophagoides mites in the housedust.