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Glite Dictionary
heteroecious

heteroecious

9.9
A parasite that lives on animals or plants at different life stages
  • adjective
  • /ˌhɛtəˈriːoʊˌiːʃ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : heteroico
  • Some rust fungi are heteroecious, requiring both barberry and wheat plants to complete their life cycle.

Examples

  • The heteroecious fungus requires two host plants to complete its life cycle.

  • The parasite is described as heteroecious because it alternates between two different host species.

  • Biologists study heteroecious insects to understand how they exploit multiple hosts.

  • Many heteroecious parasites can adapt to different environments.

  • Some rust fungi are heteroecious, requiring both barberry and wheat plants to complete their life cycle.

  • Biologists study heteroecious insects to understand how they exploit multiple hosts.

  • The parasite is described as heteroecious because it alternates between two different host species.

Antonyms

autoecious
  • Specialized
9.9

A parasite that completes its whole life cycle on one host species

How Many Hosts

heteroecious
  • Specialized
9.9
monoxenous
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

heteroecious positive

Morphology

heteroecious = oecious (semi-transparent) = hetero + oecious

The prefix 'hetero-' (different) is informative, but the combining form '-oecious' is a technical biological element unfamiliar to most learners.

Etymology

Heteroecious comes from the Greek parts hetero- 'different' and oikos 'home', and you can see oikos in the word ecology. It literally means 'different homes', so a heteroecious parasite lives on different host species at different stages of its life.