Provide examples for monophagous, oligophagous, and polyphagous feeding strategies.

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Feeding specialization ranges from monophagy to oligophagy to polyphagy. Monophagous insects depend on a single plant species for food and often for development. Monarch butterfly larvae are a classic example: they feed almost exclusively on milkweed, tying their life cycle to that plant and even using its chemical compounds for defense.

Oligophagous insects use a limited set of hosts, usually within a single plant family. Aphids that feed on Brassicaceae illustrate this well, taking nourishment from a small group of related plants rather than from a broad range.

Polyphagous insects exploit many host plants across different families. The western corn rootworm, which can utilize multiple crops in agricultural landscapes, demonstrates a broad host range rather than a strict reliance on a single species or family.

This trio of examples aligns with the idea that monarchs show monophagy, aphids on Brassicaceae show oligophagy, and the rootworm shows polyphagy.