Table of Contents What are Parasites 4 The Blood Suckers 10 Killer Babies Parasitoids 16 Mosquitos as Disease Vectors 22 Glossary 30 Index 31 Show What You Know 31 Websites to Visit 31 About the Author 32
What are Parasites Deer Fly Imagine having a tiny animal wrapped around your ankle or living in your stomach Everywhere you go it goes with you Occasionally it takes a bite out of you That’s what it’s like to have a parasite Parasites are creatures that feed off other animals without killing them 4
Ectoparasites are organisms that live on the outside of an animal Ticks are fairly common ectoparasites of dogs The animal a parasite feeds on is its host Parasites are usually smaller than their hosts and live inside or on them Insect parasites use hooks claws or suckers to catch or hang on to their hosts Chiggers and other mites are parasites that feed on insects but they aren’t insects themselves Like spiders mites are a type of arachnid with eight legs instead of six 5
