parasitoid

noun

1. an organism that practices parasitoidism.

adjective

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

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

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.