Consider the following :
- 1.Carabid beetles
- 2.Centipedes
- 3.Flies
- 4.Termites
- 5.Wasps
Parasitoid species are found in how many of the above kind of organisms ?
Show answer
Answer: B. A parasitoid lives on or in a host and finally kills it. Many wasps and many flies (such as tachinid flies) are parasitoids. Some carabid (ground) beetles, such as Lebia and Brachinus species, have parasitoid larvae. Centipedes are predators and termites are decomposers, so neither has parasitoid species. So only three.
Watch for: Students know parasitoid wasps but miss parasitoid flies and beetles, or wrongly add centipedes because they are predators.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because carabid beetles, flies and wasps all include parasitoids, which is three.
- C. Wrong because neither centipedes nor termites include parasitoid species.
- D. Wrong because centipedes and termites are not parasitoids.
Source to check: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Parasitoid'; Godfray, Parasitoids: Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology (1994)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.