How do ectoparasites and endoparasites differ?
Ectoparasites - tough, thick cuticle; small wings if any; backwards pointing spines (to anchor)
Endoparasites - Live inside bodies of other animals; lack locomotory appendages and sensory organs; modified tracheal systems for aquatic environments
What is the general body shape of permanent ectoparasites?
2 dimensional, flattened/compressed, with thick, tough cuticle, little or no wings, backwardspointing spines
What are bee lice?
Braulid flies, lap nectar around mouthparts of bee hosts
What is a “milk gland” in tsetse flies?
That which feeds nutritive substances and vital symbiotic microbes to the growing internal maggot in the females
How are poisons and venoms different?
Poisons - not injected directly- harmful when touched or eaten
Venoms - delivered through an apparatus from insect
What is a parasite? How is different from a predator?
An animal that obtains its nutrients at the expense of another organism. Feed on nutritional reserves of the host. However, they do not kill their hosts.
What common features do ectoparasites share?
Much of their external structure is designed for protection against their major enemy (irritated host), effectively two dimensional (either compressed laterally or flattened dorso-ventrally), equipped with thick, touch cuticle, many have wings greatly reduced in size (or gone), backwards pointing spines or combs in strategic places on their bodies.
What is an obligate parasite?
Parasite which cannot live without a host. has certain behavioral and anatomical features that are easily co-opted for a parasitic lifestyle (bed bugs and bat bugs for example).
What two groups of mammals do not have parasites?
Cetaceans (whales and dolphins), sea cows, and pangolins (feed exclusively on ants).
What is one theory about the development of the opposable thumb in humans that has to do with parasites? thumbs formed for social grooming - picking the