...Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism consume principally autotrophsCampbell, N. A. (1996) Biology (4th edition) Benjamin Cummings, New York ISBN 0-8053-1957-3 such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria.By that definition, many fungi, some bacteria, many animals, some protists and a small number of parasitic plants can be considered herbivores.However, herbivory is generally restricted to animals eating plants.Fungi, bacteria and protists that feed on living plants are usually termed plant pathogens.Microbes that feed on dead plants are saprotrophs.Flowering plants that obtain nutrition from other living plants are usually termed parasitic plants.More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in general are known as primary consumers. Read full entry

This entry is from Wikipedia,the leading user-contributed encyclopedia.It may not have been reviewed by professional editors(See full disclaimer)