Ectoparasites usually make use of one of two food sources from the host: blood or tissues.
Endoparasites can acquire their nutrients from host blood, tissues, or intestinal contents.
Reproduction is the process of producing new individual from existing individuals.
Dispersal is the process by which individual parasites move from one geographic location to another. This movement can result from direct activity by free-living stages, but typically results in dispersal on the order of meters. This movement can also occur passively as the parasite is carried by wind or water currents, or by its host, and may result in dispersal on the order of meters to thousands of kilometers.