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• n  an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant); it obtains nourishment from the host without benefiting or killing the host
• n  a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

• On the problem of Washington's grotesque wartime crowding, President Roosevelt gave his press conference a half-serious suggestion: if the "parasites" would leave-those who had.
• Autopsies revealed that the birds had parasites in every organ in their body, even in skeletal muscle and their brains, in a few cases.
• Instead, she frames issues solely in terms of the health care parasites.

• leech
• sponge
• sponger

• host

News & Articles

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• Blood-sucking deer keds are spreading in Norway
  A high moose population density and mild autumn weather result in a higher prevalence of deer keds (louse fly parasite). A great deal of pine forest in the habitat of the moose has the same effect. These are the results of new research into how deer keds are spreading in Southeast Norway.
  June 11, 2013 - Science Daily
• Potential disease-transmission sources in animals ID'd by calculating risk using social network mathematics
  Scientists have successfully identified animal species that can transmit more diseases to humans by using mathematical tools similar to those applied to the study of social networks like Facebook or Twitter. Their research describes how parasite-primate interactions transmit diseases like malaria, yellow fever or AIDS to humans. Their findings could make an important contribution to predicting ...
  June 11, 2013 - Science Daily
• Parasite may be killing fish in Concord pond
  Fish and Game officials said a parasite may be killing the fish in Concord's White Park Pond.
  June 6, 2013 - WMUR New Hampshire

Quotes

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• EO Wilson in Guardian Unlimited
  In 2001, Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist EO Wilson described "contrarians like Lomborg" as "the parasite load on scholars who earn success through the slow process of peer review and approval."
• Mario Diaz-Balart in Toronto Sun
  Another Republican congressman, Mario Diaz-Balart from Florida, described the bill this week as a "flea-infested, tick-infested, parasite-infected, special-interest infected, wet, smelly dog."