Might I inquire where you keep the spoons?
Another thing about the importance of parasites and other “pesky” organisms is that they are a non-stop irritation to almost all other animals on the planet…..and the impact of that cannot possibly be overstated. It affects EVERYTHING those animals do. It even affects what they look like and how they’re shaped.
The clouds of biting midges breeding in a marsh are going to affect how long an animal stops to graze on wetland greenery and how much of that greenery it takes.
Explosions of mosquitoes that follow a wet season are what drive larger herd animals to seek drier prairies and meadows, allowing a completely different set of animals and plants to surge.
Population booms of ticks and lice drive animals to practice mud-wallowing, social grooming, population splits and even mass migrations.
Flies are the entire reason zebras have stripes.
These are just a couple of examples, but basically the whole face of our planet looks the way it does because some of the tiniest animals are constantly pissing off the largest.
furbearingbrick