Some animals are called predators. They hunt and kill other animals. And the animals that are hunted and eaten by predators are called prey.
But what about parasites? They don't have to kill an animal for the food they want. In fact, parasites live on or inside a living animal, harming it, but not killing it immediately.
The animal they live on and feed off, is called the host. Fleas are an excellent example of parasites. They live on the fur of an animal, such as a dog or a cat, and they bite and suck the blood.
But the animal is still alive. The flea is feeding itself, and harming the dog or cat at the same time. Many parasites spread diseases such as Malaria. The Malaria parasite is called Plasmodium.
Humans are the hosts that plasmodium feed off of. Mosquitoes inject the plasmodium on their insides into the bloodstream.
And in doing so, they act as a vector of the disease. They do this to another organism, without being effected by it. A parasite lives on or in another organism called the host, causing it harm.
