parasitoid
/ˈpɛrəsɪtɔɪd/
adjective
- Relating to or characteristic of a parasitoid.
- The parasitoid lifestyle is common among certain wasps and flies.
- Parasitoid insects are important in biological pest control.
- Researchers studied the parasitoid behavior of the tiny fly.
noun
- An insect that lives on or inside a host organism, eventually killing it, unlike a true parasite that usually does not kill its host.
- The wasp is a parasitoid that lays its eggs inside a caterpillar.
- A parasitoid develops inside its host and emerges when it is fully grown.
- Farmers sometimes use parasitoids to control pest insects naturally.