Question
UPSC Prelims 2024 Question:
Consider the following
- Carabid beetles
- Centipedes
- Flies
- Termites
- Wasps
Parasitoid species are found in how many of the above kind of organisms?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)
Option 2: Only three
Detailed Solution
Explanation:
- Parasitoids are small insects whose immature stages develop either within or attached to the outside of other insects, referred to as hosts.
- Parasitoids eventually kill the host they feed on, as opposed to parasites like fleas and ticks, which typically feed upon hosts without killing them.
- There are two general categories of parasitoids: endoparasitoids, which hatch within the host from eggs or larvae laid there by an adult female, and then feed and develop inside the host; and ectoparasitoids, which are fastened to the outside of the host and feed through the host skin, sucking out body fluids.
- Most parasitoids are either wasps and bees (Hymenoptera) or flies (Diptera), although a few species of beetles, twisted-wing insects, moths, and other insects have been identified as parasitoids.
Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.
Subject: Environment | Plant and Animal Anatomy
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