When a Parasitic Insect is Itself Parasitized by Another Insect

Question

When a parasitic insect is itself parasitized by another insect,
A)this is called a superparasite.
B)this is hyperparasitism.
C)this is co-parasitism.
D)the second parasite is a parasitoid.
E)the first insect is the host-parasite.

Accepted Answer

When a parasitic insect is itself parasitized by another insect, it is called hyperparasitism. This means that the second parasitic insect is feeding on the first parasitic insect, which is itself feeding on the host. This is different from co-parasitism, where two or more parasites are feeding on the same host, and from parasitoidism, where the parasite eventually kills the host. The term "superparasite" is not commonly used in scientific literature to describe this phenomenon.