What is the difference between a parasite and predator?

Answer 1

Parasites and predators are quite similar, however, an animal is called a parasite if it only eats part of another animal and its victim continues to live. Mosquitos are micropredators.

or

A parasite feeds off a host without meaning to kill it while a predator feeds off a prey which it kills intentionally.

or

The main difference between a parasite and predator is....

A parasite is an organism which depends upon its host for food, shelter and reproduction.

Whereas the predator kills its prey and eats it. It doesn't depend for shelter or reproduction except for food.

Predator and parasite are similar in their feeding habits. Both of them depend upon others for their food. Infact we the humans are also called predators which is not accepted by many scientists.
Parasites are smaller than host and don't kill host eg. mosquito on man .

Predators are larger than prey and kill it eg lion and deer .

Answer 2

Predators kill and eat their prey. Parasites live either inside, or on the surface of their host organism, and usually are not fatal, although they can be extremely damaging to the health of the host. You might say that predators kill quickly, and parasites try to do it much more slowly, thereby prolonging their own opportunity to feed.

A predator is different than other parasites because of its immediate impact on the prey.

Answer 3

A parasite lives in or on another organism called the host, feeding off its nutrients without necessarily causing immediate death. In contrast, a predator actively hunts and kills other organisms for food.