- host remains alive during much or all resource extraction
- host is eventually killed
- host metabolism subsidizes parasite reproduction
Operational definition
Specialized consumer role.
A parasite obtains resources from a living host and ordinarily does not require the host’s immediate death.
A parasitoid develops in or on a host and characteristically kills that individual as part of completing its own development.
They are grouped because both use a living host as a prolonged resource, but the normal fate of the host distinguishes them.