Hyperparasite facts for kids

A hyperparasite is a special kind of parasite. Imagine a tiny living thing that lives on, or inside, another tiny living thing. Now, imagine that second tiny living thing is also a parasite! That's what a hyperparasite does – it's a parasite of a parasite.

A hyperparasitoid chalcid wasp on the cocoons of its host, a braconid wasp. The victim is itself a parasitoid of Lepidoptera

A hyperparasitic microsporidian, the fungus Nosema podocotyloidis, is a parasite of the trematode Podocotyloides magnatestis. The trematode is itself a parasite of the fish Parapristipoma octolineatum.

Usually, hyperparasites attack the young stages, like the larvae, of their host parasite.

Types of Hyperparasites

Many hyperparasites are a type of wasp called Apocrita. You can also find some hyperparasitic flies (which are called Diptera) and beetles (known as Coleoptera).

Seventeen different families of Hymenoptera (which include wasps, bees, and ants) have species that are hyperparasites. A few types of flies and beetles are also hyperparasites.

When Hyperparasites Appeared

The first known parasites in the Hymenoptera group appeared a very long time ago. They evolved during the Jurassic period, which was about 135 million years ago.

Levels of Parasitism

Sometimes, the world of parasites can get even more complicated! Scientists have seen up to three levels of parasitism happening at once. For example, imagine a fungus that lives on another fungus, which itself lives on a third fungus, and that third fungus lives on a tree. That's a parasite on a parasite on a parasite!

Images for kids

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  The hyperparasitic monogenean Cyclocotyla bellones is found on Ceratothoa parallela, a cymothoid isopod parasite of the sparid fish Boops boops

See also

In Spanish: Hiperparásito para niños