Definition of "hyperparasite"
hyperparasite
noun
plural hyperparasites
(biology) Any parasite whose host is a parasite.
Quotations
Tuberculina maxima Rost., a fungus hyperparasite of blister rust, was variably common to abundant over the area during the test period, and it caused some uncertainties in assessing effectiveness of fungicidal treatments.
1967, Clarence R. Quick, “Methods”, in Chemical Control of Blister Rust on Sugar Pine … Two Fungicides Show Promise in California Tests (U.S. Forest Service Research Note; PSW-147), Berkeley, Calif.: Pacific Southwest Forest & Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, page 2
[page 22] Among the most illuminating and certainly the most bizarre of self-replicators are the digital organisms invented by Thomas Ray of the University of Delaware. [...] [page 23] A peculiar creature that is 80 instructions long, but differs from the ancestral sequence by 20 or so alterations, has sometimes been observed; it is a hyperparasite able to force parasites to replace themselves with copies of itself.
1997, Graham Bell, “Simple Selection”, in The Basics of Selection, New York, N.Y., London: Chapman & Hall, section 14 (Self-replicating Algorithms Evolve in Computers), pages 22 and 23
In a second instance, two parasitic fungi (Dicyma pulvinata and Cylindrosporium concentricum) were introduced against a fungal pathogen causing black crust on the foliage of rubber, Phyllachora huberi, in the Amazon basin of Brazil and long-term control was documented [...]. These antagonists are obligate pathogens living as hyperparasites and their increase is dependent on the presence of the plant pathogen.
2004, Ann E. Hajek, “Microbial Antagonists”, in Natural Enemies: An Introduction to Biological Control, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, section 17.3 (Strategies for Using Antagonists to Control Plant Pathogens), page 281
(entomology, specifically) An insect that parasitizes another parasitic insect.
Quotations
Parasites and Hyperparasites.— [...] How the Pteromalus contrived to introduce its eggs into the Tetrastichus, and how the Tetrastichus managed to oust the Microgaster must for the present remain open questions for the consideration of the learned.
1863, Edward Newman, “Parasites and Hyperparasites”, in Edward Newman, editor, The Zoologist: A Popular Miscellany of Natural History, volume XXI, London: John Van Voorst, […], page 8609
Though itself attacked by several hymenopterous hyperparasites, it [Paratheresia claripalpis, a species of fly] is still capable of maintaining a high rate of borer parasitization, one recorded instance being 73.7%; [...]
1951 February, H. M[artin]-L[eake], “The Sugar Cane Mouth Borer in Peru”, in James P. Ogilvie, editor, The International Sugar Journal: A Technical & Commercial Periodical Devoted Entirely to the Sugar Industry, volume LIII, number 626, London: The International Sugar Journal Ltd., page 42, column 2
Secondary parasites, or hyperparasites, are parasites of primary parasites and have quite the opposite ecological effect since they constrain the population of the primary parasite. [...] A few species are able to function as facultative hyperparasites, attacking both the host and its primary parasites.
1982, John Feltwell, “Parasitic Control”, in Large White Butterfly: The Biology, Biochemistry, and Physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus) (Entomologica; 18), The Hague, Boston, Mass.: Dr. W. Junk Publishers, page 402
Eupteromalus parnarae Gahan [...] is also a recorded hyperparasite of Apanteles rifucrus Haliday on Naranga aenescens Moore, [...]
1983 December, A. T. Barrion, J. A. Litsinger, “Trichornalopsis apanteloctena (Crawford) [Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae]: Correct Name for the Larval Parasite of the Rice Skipper”, in International Rice Research Newsletter, volume 8, number 6, Manila: International Rice Research Institute, page 14
[page 12] The colour loss of the rust on Araza was found to be accelerated by the presence of a hyperparasite indicated by the white mycelia surrounding the urediospores [...] [page 13] The hyperparasite on the Uromyces sp. affecting Araza is yet to be identified but may have potential in the future for the development of biological control programs for this organism.
1995 May, Paulette Ann Tai Chun, “Results and Discussion”, in Pre and Post Harvest Pests and Diseases of Araza (Eugenia stipitata) in Costa Rica: Report on Activities at the Agronomic Center for Tropical Agriculture Research and Training (CATIE): […], Costa Rica: Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture Headquarters, pages 12 and 13