parasitoid

[ par-uh-si-toid, -sahy- ]
/ ˈpær ə sɪˌtɔɪd, -saɪ- /

noun

an organism that practices parasitoidism.

adjective

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

Origin of parasitoid

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

Words nearby parasitoid

parasitic oscillation, parasiticide, parasitism, parasitize, parasitogenic, parasitoid, parasitoidism, parasitology, parasitosis, parasitotropism, paraskiing

British Dictionary definitions for parasitoid

parasitoid
/ (ˈpærəsɪˌtɔːd) /

noun

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

Scientific definitions for parasitoid

parasitoid
[ păr′ə-sĭ-toid′, -sī′toid ]

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.