Stored product mites (Acari: Astigmata) infesting food in various types of packaging
From 2008 to 2014, stored product mites have been reported from prepackaged dried food on the market in the Czech Republic. The infestation was by Carpoglyphus lactis (L.) in dried fruits and Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) in dog feed. The infestation is presumably caused by poor protection of the packages. We compared various packaging methods for their resistance to mites using dried apricots and dog feed in laboratory experiments. The trial packages included nine different plastic films, monofilm, duplex and triplex, and one type of plastic cup (ten replicates per packaging type). All packaging materials are available on the Czech market for dried food products. The samples of dried food were professionally packed in a factory and packaged dried apricots were exposed to C. lactis and dog food to T. putrescentiae. After 3 months of exposure, the infestation and mite density of the prepackaged food was assessed. Mites were found to infest six types of packages. Of the packaging types with mites, 1–5 samples were infested and the maximum abundance was 1,900 mites g−1 of dried food. Mites entered the prepackaged food by faulty sealing. Inadequate sealing is suggested to be the major cause of the emerged infestation of dried food.
The use of entomopathogenic nematodes in the control of stored-product insects
This review highlights the latest findings regarding the use of entomopathogenic nematodes against post-harvest insects. Due to their requirements for moisture, entomopathogenic nematodes had received, until lately, limited attention for application to the dry storage environment. Recent improvements of their formulation and application approaches, as well as the discovery of new, more virulent strains have enhanced the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes and renewed interest in using entomopathogenic nematodes in the stored-product environment. The nematode species tested against storage insects belong exclusively to the genera Steinernema and Heterhorhabditis. The virulence of entomopathogenic nematodes against post-harvest insects varies depending on the nematode species and strain. Usually, only a single-nematode species or strain is not equally effective against all major stored-product insect pests; therefore, one nematode strain or species cannot be suitable for controlling all species present in the storage environment, where several insect species coexist. The successful application of entomopathogenic nematodes in storage environments for controlling post-harvest insects is highly dependent on several biotic and abiotic factors, such as the host life stage, temperature, and relative humidity. Entomopathogenic nematodes have still to overcome substantial hurdles to become a reliable alternative for commercial applications in warehouses and storage facilities. However, the use of innovative, enhanced methods of formulation and application, such as encapsulation or bait traps, could boost the exploitation of entomopathogenic nematodes in storage facilities against post-harvest insects.
Art and Value: Art’s Economic Exceptionalism in Classical, Neoclassical and Marxist Economics
Art and Value is the first comprehensive analysis of art's political economy to be found in classical, neoclassical and Marxist economics. It provides a critical-historical survey of the theories of art's economic exceptionalism, of art as a merit good, and of the theories of art's commodification, the culture industry and real subsumption. Through an exacting critique of mainstream and Marxist theories of art's economics, the book arrives at a new and highly original Marxist theory of art's economic exceptionalism.