parasitoid

[ par-uh-si-toid, -sahy- ]

noun

1. an organism that practices parasitoidism.

adjective

1. of or relating to a parasite, especially one practicing parasitoidism.

parasitoid

/ ˈpærəsɪˌtɔːd /

noun

1. zoology an animal, esp an insect, that is parasitic during the larval stage of its life cycle but becomes free-living when adult

parasitoid

/ păr′ə-sĭ-toid′,-sī′toid /

1. Any of various insects, such as the ichneumon fly, whose larvae are parasites that eventually kill their hosts. The adult parasitoid deposits an egg on or inside the body of its host, typically the larva of another arthropod. When the egg hatches, the parasitoid larva feeds on the host's tissues, gradually killing it.

Word History and Origins

Origin of parasitoid¹

1920–25; < New Latin Parasitoïdea (1913); parasite, -oid