Parasites

A parasite is an organism that depends on another organism, known as a host, for

food and shelter. As an example, tapeworms live in the digestive system of a large
variety of animals. The tapeworms have no digestive system of their own, but
absorb nutrients through their skin from partially digested food as it passes through
the host.
A parasite usually gains all the benefits of this relationship. In contrast, the host
may suffer from various diseases, infections, and discomforts as a result of the
parasitic attack. In some cases, however, the host may show no signs at all of
infection by the parasite.
The life cycle of a typical parasite commonly includes several developmental
stages. During these stages, the parasite may go through two or more changes in
body structure as it lives and moves through the environment and one or more
hosts.

Arthropods. Arthropods are organisms characterized by exterior skeletons and

segmented bodies. Examples include the crustaceans, insects, and arachnids. The
arthropods are the most diverse and widely distributed animals on the planet. Many
arthropod species serve as carriers of bacterial and viral diseases, as intermediate
hosts for protozoan and helminth parasites, and as parasites themselves.
Certain insect species are the carriers of some of humanity's most dreaded diseases,
including malaria, typhus, and plague. As consumers of agricultural crops and

parasites of our livestock, insects are also humankind's number-one competitor for
resources.
Mosquitoes are the most notorious carriers of disease and parasites. Female
mosquitoes rely on warm-blooded hosts to serve as a blood meal to nourish their
eggs. During the process of penetrating a host's skin with their long, sucking mouth
parts, saliva from the mosquito is transferred into the bite area. Any viral,
protozoan, or helminth infections carried in the biting mosquito can be transferred
directly into the blood stream of its host. Among these diseases are malaria, yellow
fever, filariasis, elephantiasis, and heartworm.
Flies also harbor diseases that can be transmitted to humans and other mammals
when they bite to obtain a blood meal for themselves. For example, black flies can
carry Onchocerciasis (which causes river blindness), sandflies can carry
leishmaniasis and kala-azar, and tsetse flies can carry the trypanosomes that cause
sleeping sickness. Livestock, such as horses and cattle, can be infected with a
variety of botflies and warbles that infest and feed on the skin, throat, nasal
passages, and stomachs of their hosts.
Fleas and lice are two of the most common and irritating parasitic insects of
humans and livestock. Lice commonly live among the hairs of their hosts, feeding
on blood. Some species are carriers of typhus fever. Fleas usually infest birds and
mammals, and can feed on humans when they are transferred from pets or
livestock. Fleas are known to carry a variety of devastating diseases, including the
plague.
Another prominent class of arthropods that contains parasitic species is the
arachnids. Included in this group are spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites.

Mites are very small arachnids that infest both plants and animals. One common
type of mite is the chigger, which lives in grasses. As larvae, they may grab onto
passing animals and attach themselves to the skin, often leading to irritating rashes
or bite wounds. Scabies are another
mite that causes mange in some mammals by burrowing into the skin and
producing severe scabs, lesions, and loss of hair.
Ticks also live their adult lives among grasses and short shrubs. They are typically
larger than mites. The adult female tick attaches itself to an animal host for a blood
meal. Tick bites themselves can be painful and irritating. More importantly, ticks
can carry a number of diseases that affect humans. The most common of these
diseases include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, and Lyme