acarophilous
adj. C2 Proficiency ac·arophilous
adj. describing plants that grow on or near animals, especially insects. It is a very old word used by scientists to talk about specific types of plant life.
adj. relating to or growing on animals, particularly arthropods. A rare and archaic term primarily found in historical botanical or entomological literature.
The scientist studied acarophilous plants that live on spiders.
In the nineteenth century, naturalists documented various acarophilous species that thrived in the fur of large mammals.
While modern taxonomy has largely replaced the term, acarophilous remains a descriptor for organisms that have evolved to inhabit the specialized microhabitats provided by arachnids and their secretions.