Entomophagous parasite
Encyclopedia
Entomophagous parasites (coined from Greek
entomon "insect" and Gk. -phagos "eater of") are insect
s that are parasitic on other insects. Nearly all insects are attacked by one or more insect parasites. This parasitic mode of life is most often confined to the larva
e with the adults usually leading free lives. The vast majority of Hymenopterous insect parasites are usually restricted to specific hosts, such as Embidobia (parasitic on Embioptera
), Platygaster and Polygnotus
(on Cecidomyiidae
), Scelio
(on locust
eggs) and Aphidiuc (on Aphids). Often, species that are hyperparasites are less host-specific.
Species whose feeding on the host leads to the certain death of the host, typically before the host reached reproduction, are termed parasitoids. In some cases, the larvae feed externally on paralyzed hosts, typically provided by the parent in special brood chambers; this life history is common among Scoliidae
, Thynnidae, Mutillidae
, and other predatory wasps. Others seek the eggs, larvae or pupae of various insects and deposit their eggs within them. The larvae develop on these stages of the host, killing it in the end. The parasitoid mode of life is common in Hymenoptera, especially within the Ichneumonoidea, Chalcidoidea and Proctotrupoidea
and in Diptera
(Tachinidae
).
Strepsiptera
differ in that the adult males live free lives with the females remaining as endoparasites, in a larval like state, feeding on the host in many Neuroptera
and in the Epipyropidae
among Lepidoptera
.
is a form of parasitism
in which the host (typically an insect
larva
such as a caterpillar
), is attacked more than once by a single species of parasitoid
.
. The hyperparasites are usually far less restricted in their selection of host than the parasites. Many hyperparasites are ectoparasites. The effect of attack by the parasite is usually slow death of the host, though very rarely it leads to castration of the host (as in parasitism by Strepsiptera
).
s regularly capture the pupae from the nest of other species of ants, carry them to their own nest and compel the workers emerging from the pupae to breed their own brood
. The ant Anergates
indeed rears no workers of its own, but invades the nests of Tetramorium
and carries off the brood to its own nests. They are incapable of feeding for themselves but have to be fed by the slaves. Robbing is also a kind of social parasitism called cleptoparasitism. The so-called bee lice invade the nests of bees and devour the store of food in them. Brood parasitism, met within the Chrysididae, Mutillidae
, robber bees, parasitic bees and in certain Meloid beetles, refers to the smuggling of the eggs into the brood nest of another insect.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
entomon "insect" and Gk. -phagos "eater of") are insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s that are parasitic on other insects. Nearly all insects are attacked by one or more insect parasites. This parasitic mode of life is most often confined to the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e with the adults usually leading free lives. The vast majority of Hymenopterous insect parasites are usually restricted to specific hosts, such as Embidobia (parasitic on Embioptera
Embioptera
The order Embioptera, commonly known as webspinners, are a small group of mostly tropical and subtropical insects, classified under the subclass Pterygota. The order has also been referred to as Embiodea or Embiidina...
), Platygaster and Polygnotus
Polygnotus
Polygnotus was an ancient Greek painter from the middle of the 5th century BC, son and pupil of Aglaophon. He was a native of Thasos, but was adopted by the Athenians, and admitted to their citizenship....
(on Cecidomyiidae
Cecidomyiidae
Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls.These are very fragile small insects usually only 2–3 mm in length and many are less than...
), Scelio
Scelio
Scelio is a large genus , the largest within the family Scelionidae, of parasitic wasp whose known target host include the eggs of grasshoppers . They are found worldwide and some species have been implemented as biological control agents....
(on locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
eggs) and Aphidiuc (on Aphids). Often, species that are hyperparasites are less host-specific.
Parasitoids
Scoliidae
Scoliidae, the scoliid wasps, is a small family represented by 6 genera and about 20 species in North America, but they occur worldwide, with a total of around 300 species. They tend to be black, often marked with yellow or orange, and their wing tips are distinctively corrugated...
, Thynnidae, Mutillidae
Mutillidae
Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasp whose wingless females resemble ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair which most often is bright scarlet or orange but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Their bright colours serve as aposematic signals...
, and other predatory wasps. Others seek the eggs, larvae or pupae of various insects and deposit their eggs within them. The larvae develop on these stages of the host, killing it in the end. The parasitoid mode of life is common in Hymenoptera, especially within the Ichneumonoidea, Chalcidoidea and Proctotrupoidea
Proctotrupoidea
The Hymenopteran superfamily Proctotrupoidea is a somewhat confusing assemblage of taxa, with new families being added with surprising frequency, and very little to unify them all into a single natural group...
and in Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
(Tachinidae
Tachinidae
Tachinidae is a large and rather variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. There are over 1300 species in North America. Insects in this family are commonly called tachina flies or simply tachinids...
).
Strepsiptera
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with ten families making up about 600 species...
differ in that the adult males live free lives with the females remaining as endoparasites, in a larval like state, feeding on the host in many Neuroptera
Neuroptera
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order contains some 6,010 species...
and in the Epipyropidae
Epipyropidae
Epipyropidae is a small family of moths. This family and the closely related Cyclotornidae are unique among the Lepidoptera in that the larvae are ectoparasites, the hosts typically being fulgoroid planthoppers, thus the common name Planthopper Parasite Moths.-References:*...
among Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
.
Superparasitism
SuperparasitismSuperparasitism
Superparasitism is a form of parasitism in which the host , is attacked more than once by a single species of parasitoid. Multiparasitism, on the other hand, occurs when the host has been parasitized by more than one species....
is a form of parasitism
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
in which the host (typically an insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
such as a caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
), is attacked more than once by a single species of parasitoid
Parasitoid
A parasitoid is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life history attached to or within a single host organism in a relationship that is in essence parasitic; unlike a true parasite, however, it ultimately sterilises or kills, and sometimes consumes, the host...
.
Multiparasitism
Multiparasitism, also called multiple parasitism, on the other hand, occurs when the host has been parasitized by more than one species.Hyperparasitism
In hyperparasitism, a parasite of an insect is itself attacked by another insect parasite. Species of the chalcid Perilampus are often parasitic on the ichneumonoid genera Microgaster and Apanteles, which are parasites of caterpillars of LepidopteraLepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
. The hyperparasites are usually far less restricted in their selection of host than the parasites. Many hyperparasites are ectoparasites. The effect of attack by the parasite is usually slow death of the host, though very rarely it leads to castration of the host (as in parasitism by Strepsiptera
Strepsiptera
The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with ten families making up about 600 species...
).
Social parasites
The term social parasitism is given to the relation of the guests in the nests of various social insects. In the case of certain species of ants this takes a special form called slavery. The slave-driving antAnt
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s regularly capture the pupae from the nest of other species of ants, carry them to their own nest and compel the workers emerging from the pupae to breed their own brood
Offspring
In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...
. The ant Anergates
Anergates
Anergates is a single-species genus of tetramorine Myrmicine ants. It is a worker-less obligate parasite to Tetramorium caespitum, the "lawn ant" or "pavement ant", and is thought to have evolved as an aberrant form of the genus Tetramorium....
indeed rears no workers of its own, but invades the nests of Tetramorium
Tetramorium
Tetramorium is a genus of insect in family Formicidae.Tetramorium was first described in the same publication as Monomorium.-Distribution:...
and carries off the brood to its own nests. They are incapable of feeding for themselves but have to be fed by the slaves. Robbing is also a kind of social parasitism called cleptoparasitism. The so-called bee lice invade the nests of bees and devour the store of food in them. Brood parasitism, met within the Chrysididae, Mutillidae
Mutillidae
Mutillidae are a family of more than 3,000 species of wasp whose wingless females resemble ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair which most often is bright scarlet or orange but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Their bright colours serve as aposematic signals...
, robber bees, parasitic bees and in certain Meloid beetles, refers to the smuggling of the eggs into the brood nest of another insect.