# Oligophagy

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[[File:Kartoffelkäfer.jpg|thumb|right|The [Colorado potato beetle](/source/Colorado_potato_beetle) will typically only feed on plants of the family [Solanaceae](/source/Solanaceae).]]
'''Oligophagy''' refers to the eating of only a few specific [foods](/source/foods), and to monophagy when restricted to a single food source.<ref>[https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/sikkim-sees-surge-in-butterfly-biodiversity/article29667459.ece Sikkim sees surge in butterfly biodiversity - The Hindu]</ref> The term is usually associated with [insect](/source/insect) dietary behaviour.<ref name="Dict">
[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oligophagy ''Oligophagy'' on Dictionary.com]. Accessed on 9 January 2010.</ref> Organisms may exhibit narrow or specific oligophagy where the diet is restricted to a very few foods or broad oligophagy where the organism feeds on a wide variety of specific foods but none other.<ref name="Huffaker_Gutierrez">Huffaker & Gutierrez ''Ecological Entomology'', pg 201.</ref>

[Polyphagy](/source/Polyphagy), on the contrary, refers to eating a broad spectrum of foods. In the insect world it refers usually to insects that feed on plants belonging to different families.

== Examples ==
The diet of the [yucca moth](/source/Prodoxidae)s is restricted to the developing fruits of species of [yucca](/source/yucca)<ref name="Huffaker_Gutierrez"/> while the [sea hare](/source/sea_hare), ''[Aplysia juliana](/source/Aplysia_juliana)'' (Quoy & Gaimard), is found on and feeds only on a single [alga](/source/alga), ''[Ulva lactuca](/source/Ulva_lactuca)'' ([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)) in east [Australia](/source/Australia)n waters.<ref name="Sea_hare">Rogers et al (1995).</ref> These are both narrow oligophages. Conversely the [migratory locust](/source/migratory_locust) may be said to be broadly oligophagous or even [polyphagous](/source/polyphagy).<ref name="Huffaker_Gutierrez"/>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{aut|Huffaker, Carl B. & Gutierrez, A. P.}} (1999). ''Ecological Entomology''. 2nd Edition (illustrated). John Wiley and Sons. {{ISBN|0-471-24483-X}}, {{ISBN|978-0-471-24483-7}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=aw5Iycas70cC Limited preview] on Google Books. Accessed 9 January 2010.
* {{aut|Rogers, C. N.; Steinberg, P. D.  & de Nys, R.}} (1994). "Factors associated with oligophagy in two species of sea hares (Mollusca: Anaspidea)". ''Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology'', Volume 192, Issue 1, 17 October 1995, Pages 47–73. {{doi|10.1016/0022-0981(95)00057-X}}.

{{Wiktionary}}

Category:Eating behaviors
Category:Insect behavior

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Oligophagy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligophagy) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligophagy?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.