Hassell , M . P . ( 1978 ) The Dynamics of Arthropod Predator – Prey Systems

The phenomenon of insect parasitism was first described around a thousand years ago by Lu Dian (China, 1042–1102) based on observations of the life cycle of tachinid flies1. Further descriptions of parasitism by insects are credited to European 16th and 17th century naturalists, including Jan Jacob Swammerdam (assisted by a painter, Otto Marsilius), and the better known work of Antoni van Leeuwenhoek2. It was not, however, until one hundred years ago that the term ‘parasitoid’ was coined: German entomologist Odo Morannal Reuter introduced it in his book3 on insect habits and life histories, Lebensgewohnheiten und Instinkte der Insekten. He used the term ‘parasitoidea’ (parasitoid predators) to distinguish insects that live in close association with their host as immatures, killing it during their development and living freely as adults, from ‘parasites’ (true parasites) in which both adult and immature stages feed on the host. In defining parasitoids, Reuter had particularly in mind members of the Hymenoptera, such as ichneumonoid and chalcidoid wasps, and these also form our focus here. In reviewing Reuter’s book, American entomologist William M. Wheeler4 mostly downplayed the utility of the term although his criticisms were tempered due to the fact that Reuter has been blind for several years beforehand. Despite Wheeler’s critique, the term has now become very widely used, especially in the last 30–40 years, and today a Web of Science search on ‘parasitoid’ returns well over 66,000 articles. We have not been able to cite let alone read all of these! Rather, we here provide a narrative overview of selected highlights of parasitoid research from just prior to Reuter’s terminological advance to the present time.