hyperparasites
Hyperparasites are organisms that parasitize other parasites. This means they are at least the third trophic level in a parasitic food chain. A hyperparasite could be a virus infecting a bacterium that infects a plant, or a protozoan infecting a nematode that infects an insect. This phenomenon is known as hyperparasitism.
The study of hyperparasites is important in various fields, including pest control and epidemiology. For instance,
Hyperparasitism can occur across a wide range of taxonomic groups. Examples include viruses that infect bacteria