1. feeding on or subsisting on a limited variety of food sources; restricted in diet to a few types of plants or animals
Usage: biology; zoology; entomology

Examples

• The monarch butterfly is oligophagous, feeding almost exclusively on milkweed plants.
• Oligophagous insects are often more vulnerable to habitat loss than generalist feeders.
• Some oligophagous beetles have evolved specialized mouthparts for their preferred host plants.
• The panda's oligophagous diet of bamboo makes it dependent on specific forest ecosystems.
• Oligophagous species may struggle when their limited food sources become scarce.