Abstract
Cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) and Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) are notorious insects because they eat a variety of dried plant materials much. We showed that these two insects inhabited so frequently in human living environments, and that fungi and bacteria causing public health problems were isolated from their body surfaces and digestive tracts. Aspergillus ochraceus, A. versicolor, and A. fumigatus, which are known to produce a mycotoxin, have been isolated from their body surfaces. A study on the potency of A. ochraceus strains to produce ochratoxin A revealed that 18 of 20 of A. ochraceus isolates from cigarette beetle highly produced ochratoxin A on moistened barley culture and 11 of 13 isolates form Indian meal moth did as well. In addition, myclogical study on lesser grain borer (Rhizopertha dominica) captured at an ordinary house also showed that A. ochraceus isolates produced the mycotoxin extensively on the culture medium as well as those from the others of two insects described before.
