Definition
oligophagies
noun
- The practice or condition of feeding on a limited variety of food sources; dietary restriction to a few types of food.
Usage: plural form of oligophagy; technical/scientific term; commonly used in biology and ecology
Examples
- Many insect species exhibit oligophagies, feeding only on specific plant families.
- The koala's oligophagies limit it to eucalyptus leaves, making habitat loss particularly threatening.
- Researchers studied the oligophagies of various butterfly larvae to understand their ecological niches.
- Some parasitic wasps show remarkable oligophagies, targeting only certain host species.
- The panda's oligophagies on bamboo represent an extreme case of dietary specialization.