oligophagousadj.
/ˌɒlᵻˈɡɒfəɡəs/, U.S. /ˌɑləˈɡɑfəɡəs/, /ˌoʊləˈɡɑfəɡəs/ Chiefly Entomology.
Of an insect, etc.: feeding on a limited range of plants; (also) parasitizing a limited range of hosts.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > [adjective] > feeding on limited number of plants
oligophagous1920
1920 C. T. Brues in Amer. Naturalist 54 317 A distinction is made between vegetarian species with a single food-plant (Monophagous), those with several definitely fixed ones (Oligophagous) and those with quite indiscriminate food habits (Polyphagous).
1969 R. F. Chapman Insects ii. 27 Other insects..feed on only a limited range of plants. They are called oligophagous.
1988 Amer. Midland Naturalist 119 65 Specialist species [of chalcidoid parasites] are monophagous or oligophagous and attack their hosts at an early stage of development.
2002 Coleopterists Bull. 56 79 This beetle is an oligophagous species capable of utilizing several species in the genus Azolla.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1920