adjective
- 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.