parasitoid

noun

par·a·sit·oid | \ ˈper-ə-sə-ˌtȯid

, -ˌsī-, ˈpa-rə-\

Definition of parasitoid

: an insect and especially a wasp that completes its larval development within the body of another insect eventually killing it and is free-living as an adult

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All the while his ground-breaking discoveries continued: Willughby wrote on sap rising in trees, on ballooning spiders, on parasitoids in caterpillars and on leaf-cutter bees, later named Megachile willughbiella. — Jenny Uglow, WSJ, "‘The Wonderful Mr. Willughby’ Review: Hatching a New Science," 5 July 2018 Karma is a real pest for parasitoids, tiny parasitic wasps that lay their eggs on caterpillars. — Mitch Leslie, Science | AAAS, "How one parasitic wasp becomes the victim—of another parasitic wasp," 30 Apr. 2018 He and two postdoctoral fellows in his lab, Ellen O. Martinson and Mrinalini (now at the National University of Singapore), were interested in understanding the diversity of toxins in parasitoid venoms and how those toxins evolve. — Christie Wilcox, Scientific American, "Moonlighting Genes Evolve for a Venomous Job," 10 July 2017 The chrysalis is unpacked, inspected for any sign of disease or parasitoids, then pinned to foam boards and placed into the emergence chamber. — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, "Stand still. Stay quiet. A colorful critter might alight on your finger at Como’s ‘Blooming Butterflies’," 12 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'parasitoid.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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The first known use of parasitoid was in 1914

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More Definitions for parasitoid

parasitoid

adjective

par·a·sit·oid | \ ˈpar-ə-sə-ˌtȯid

, -ˌsīt-ˌȯid

Medical Definition of parasitoid

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : resembling a parasite

2 : being a parasitoid

parasitoid

noun

Medical Definition of parasitoid (Entry 2 of 2)

: an insect and especially a wasp that completes its larval development within the body of another insect which it eventually kills and that is free-living as an adult