Differentiating parasitoids: which statement is true about endoparasitoids and ectoparasitoids?

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Multiple Choice

Differentiating parasitoids: which statement is true about endoparasitoids and ectoparasitoids?

Where the parasitoid larva develops relative to its host is the main idea here. Endoparasitoids lay eggs inside the host, and their developing larvae feed within the host’s body, often consuming it from the inside and eventually killing it. Ectoparasitoids, by contrast, have larvae that develop outside the host, typically attached to the outside or in a surface location, feeding from the exterior. This distinction is what makes the statement true: development inside the host for endoparasitoids and development on the outside for ectoparasitoids. The other ideas don’t fit because they misstate where development occurs, whether hosts are plants or animals, or typical outcomes like host killing and size relations.

Where the parasitoid larva develops relative to its host is the main idea here. Endoparasitoids lay eggs inside the host, and their developing larvae feed within the host’s body, often consuming it from the inside and eventually killing it. Ectoparasitoids, by contrast, have larvae that develop outside the host, typically attached to the outside or in a surface location, feeding from the exterior. This distinction is what makes the statement true: development inside the host for endoparasitoids and development on the outside for ectoparasitoids. The other ideas don’t fit because they misstate where development occurs, whether hosts are plants or animals, or typical outcomes like host killing and size relations.

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