Parasitoids

Parasitoid [ Biology ]	Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

The term parasitoid is usually referred to an an endoparasitic organism (fly larva or wasp larva) that, during its development, lives in or on the body of a single host individual, eventually killing that individual.

Parasitoids differ from parasites in their relationship with the host. In a truly parasitic relationship, the parasite and host live side by side with little or no damage to the host organism while the parasite takes enough nutrients to live on and reproduce without draining the host's reserves in full. In a parasitoid relationship, the host is usually killed after the full development of the other organism. Many people use the word parasite when they really mean parasitoid. This is unfortunate because it obscures the lethal effect of parasitoids.

Eretmocerus sp. and Encarsia sp. wasps are examples of parasitoids of whiteflies; whose larvae develop within and kill their host.

Most beneficial insects for plants are parasitoids (especially wasps or flies). It is known that plants have defensive mechanisms that act directly against herbivore and pathogen attack; however, recent studies have shown that a variety of herbivore-damaged plants emit chemical signals that attract parasitoids and predators to the herbivores.

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