Bence Mate / Leaf cutter ant (Atta sp) female worker carrying leaf to nest, with a smaller 'minor' ant riding. The minor's job is to protect her sister from parasitic flies. Costa Rica, December. Highly Commended,...

Kim Taylor / Bachacs / Leafcutter ants {Atta cephalotes} carrying sections of Cocoa leaf bearing 'riders' thought to ward off parasitic flies which would otherwise lay their eggs on the pieces of leaf. Trinidad, W...

Andy Sands / Parasitic wasp (Monosapyga clavicornis) hovering in front of garden bee hotel looking for hosts nests while being watched by the Bee (Chelostoma campanularum) Hertfordshire, England, UK, June

Lucas Bustamante / Amazonian millipede with parasites. Sumaco National Park, Napo, Ecuador

David Fleetham / Great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) with three parasitic Copepods at end of upper jaw. Hawaii.

Guy Edwardes / Red-billed oxpecker (Buphagus erythrorhynchus) feeding on Impala (Aepyceros melampus), Savuti, Botswana.

Theo Bosboom / Water mite larvae (Arrenurus) parasitizing Common blue damselfly (Ennalagma cyathigerum), Hondeven, the Netherlands, July.

Lucas Bustamante / Brush footed butterfly (Lycorea sp.) caterpillar with parasitic wasp cocoons on silk threads, Yasuni National Park, Orellana, Ecuador.

Tony Wu / Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) adult female at rest. The tubercles on the whale's head are clearly visible, as are the barnacles (Coronula diadema), whale lice (Cyamus boopis), and hairs on t...

Jordi Chias / Giant Manta (Manta birostris) with Remoras (Remora brachyptera) attached to both wings, offshore Santa Maria Island, Azores, Atlantic Ocean

Jordi Chias / Mobula / Chilean devil ray (Mobula tarapacana) with remora (Remora brachyptera) and Amberjacks (Serila dumerilli) Santa Maria Island, Azores, Atlantic Ocean

Bence Mate / Great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) feeding Cuckoo chick (Cuculus canorus) Pusztaszer, Kiskunsagi National Park, Hungary, June.

Alex Hyde / Parasitic fungus (Cordyceps militaris) fruiting body. This entomopathogenic fungus grows from an underground insect pupa or larva. Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve. Nottinghamshire, UK. October...

Solvin Zankl / Gall wasp (Cynips quercusfolii) emerging from the oak gall. Germany, October.

Juergen Freund / Paralytic tick (Ixodes holocyclus) with engorged body on human hand, this species affects many species, Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) among them and infects them with a toxin that ca...

Alex Mustard / Large whip goby (Bryaninops amplus) with a parasitic copepod (with two trailing egg ribbons) perched on Red whip coral. Whale Rock. Fiabacet Islands, Misool, Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. Ceram S...

Alex Mustard / Red eye medusa (Polyorchis penicillatus) with hitchhiking amphipods (Hyperia medusarum). Browning Pass, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. North East Pacific Ocean.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) in flight, Svalbard, Norway, August.

Ole Jorgen Liodden / Meadow pipit (Anthus pratensis) feeding young Eurasian cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), Valdres, Norway, July.

MYN / Gil Wizen / Human botfly (Dermatobia hominis), adult and larva. Cayo District, Belize. Composite image. Meetyourneighbours.net project

Alex Mustard,Alex Mustard / Red eye medusa (Polyorchis penicillatus) with its feeding tentacles extended to catch planktonic prey. Note that the bell of the jelly has hitchhiking amphipods (Hyperia medusarum). Browning Pass, Van...

Franco Banfi / Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) with calluses covered in parasitic crustaceans named cyamids or whale lice (Cyamus ovalis). Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site...

Franco Banfi / Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) with patches covered in parasitic crustaceans named cyamids or whale lice (Cyamus ovalis). Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site,...

Franco Banfi / Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) with patches covered in parasitic crustaceans named cyamids or whale lice (Cyamus ovalis). Golfo Nuevo, Peninsula Valdes, UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site,...

Juergen Freund / Spectacled flying fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) casualty of paralytic tick (Ixodes holocyclus) bite being cared for on site of colony by Jenny Mclean, North Queensland, Australia, November 2012

Nick Garbutt / Flower of locally endemic Rafflesia (Rafflesia tengku-adlinii) flower diameter 22cm blooming on forest floor within lowland Dipterocarp rainforest, Maliau Basin, Sabah's 'Lost World', Borneo

John Abbott / Ichneumon wasp (Compsocryptus sp.?) in flight, Williamson county, Texas, USA, November

David Tipling / 2020VISION / Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) at nest feeding 12 day Cuckoo chick (Cuculus canorus), Fenland, Norfolk, UK, May

David Tipling / 2020VISION / Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) 12 day chick in Reed Warbler nest (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) fed by Reed warbler, Fenland, Norfolk, UK, May

David Tipling / 2020VISION / 12 day chick of European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in Reed warbler's (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) nest, East Anglian Fens, Norfolk, May

David Tipling / 2020VISION / Reed warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) feeding 12 day chick of European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in its nest, East Anglian Fens, Norfolk, May. 2020VISION Book Plate.

Daniel Heuclin / Mosquito (Anopheles gambiae) feeding on human in controlled conditions. The body is becoming engorged with blood. Malaria vector. Africa, June. Engorging sequence 2 of 3. Model released

Alex Mustard / A parasitic isopod attached to a Leafy Seadragon (Phycodurus eques). This species of isopod has an ornately shaped carapace to disguise it on the seadragon. Wool Bay Jetty, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula...

Nick Upton / Ichneumon Wasp (Ichneumonidae) with antenna upright, on leaf. Wiltshire garden, UK, May.

Stephen Dalton / Hedgesparrow / Dunnock (Prunella modularis)feeding European cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) in oak tree, UK

Andy Sands / Ichneumon wasp (Rhyssa persuasoria) one of the largest British wasps, at rest on Dock leaf, UK, Captive

Wild Wonders of Europe / Ziegler / Parasitoid wasp (Ichneumonidae) carrying a large paralysed caterpillar to its nesting hole, The Peloponnese, Greece, May 2009

Wild Wonders of Europe / Benvie / Bird's nest orchid (Neottia nidus-avis) in flower, France, Queyras Natural Park, May 2009

SINCLAIR STAMMERS / Photomicrograph of fully embryonated (Neoascaris / Toxocara vitulorum) eggs containin larvae immediately prior to hatching. Parasitic nematodes which normally infect cattle, collected from Egyptian ca...

Wild Wonders of Europe / Benvie / Broomrape (Cistanche phelypaea) in flower, killing its host Glasswort (Salicornia sp) Huelva, Andalucia, Spain, April 2009

Doug Perrine / Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii, USA, Central Pacific Ocean, note: parasitic leech on side of face

Mark Payne-Gill / Parasitic grubbs emerging from Red admiral butterfly larva {Vanessa atalanta} UK

Doug Perrine / Parasitic copepods {Copepoda sp.} on snout of Hammerhead shark {Sphyrnidae sp.} Bahamas

Kim Taylor / Dor beetle {Geotrupes vernalis} with phoretic mites, UK.

Anup Shah / Alpha male Chimpanzee 'Frodo', 26-years-old, feeding on leaves {Pan troglodytes schweinfurtheii} Kasekela community, Gombe NP, Tanzania. 2002. Chimps have learnt that certain leaves can be used to tre...

David Kjaer / Juvenile European cuckoo {Cuculus canorus} fed by Reed warbler {Acrocephalus scirpaceus}. Bucks, UK. Cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of reed warblers and when they hatch, the warbler mother will a...

David Kjaer / Juvenile European cuckoo {Cuculus canorus} begging for food from 'parent' Reed warbler {Acrocephalus scirpaceus} UK