Polyphagous

Guides

Vanessa cardui
Painted Lady, Cosmopolitan
Vanessa cardui, commonly known as the painted lady, is one of the most widespread butterfly species globally, occurring on every continent except Antarctica and South America. This medium-sized nymphalid butterfly is renowned for its remarkable long-distance migratory behavior, with populations undertaking multi-generational journeys spanning up to 14,500 km between tropical Africa and the Arctic Circle. The species exhibits extreme polyphagy, with larvae recorded feeding on over 300 host plant species, primarily in the Asteraceae family. Migration patterns are highly variable and linked to rainfall patterns in wintering areas, with mass migrations occasionally involving billions of individuals.
migratory polyphagous cosmopolitan model-organism pollinator
Xenotemna
Xenotemna is a monotypic genus of tortricid moths established by Powell in 1964. The sole species, Xenotemna pallorana, is a widespread North American tortrix moth with an unusually broad larval host range spanning herbaceous plants, conifers, and woody angiosperms. The genus is classified within the tribe Archipini of subfamily Tortricinae.
monotypic leaf-folder polyphagous North-America
Xyleborinus andrewesi
Xyleborinus andrewesi is a small ambrosia beetle in the weevil subfamily Scolytinae. Native to the Old World tropics, it has been widely introduced to the New World. The species is polyphagous and has been recorded from 59 host plants across 29 families. It was synonymized with Xyleborinus mimosae in a 2021 taxonomic revision.
ambrosia-beetle bark-beetle fungus-farming polyphagous invasive Old-World-native New-World-introduced Scolytinae Curculionidae weevil forest-pest orchard-pest
Xylosandrus crassiusculus
Granulate Ambrosia Beetle, Asian Ambrosia Beetle
Xylosandrus crassiusculus is a small ambrosia beetle native to tropical and subtropical Asia that has become one of the most successful invasive wood-boring beetles globally. Adults are reddish-brown, 2–3 mm long, and exhibit a specialized fungus-farming mutualism. Females excavate galleries in wood, introduce the symbiotic fungus Ambrosiella roeperi, and cultivate it as the sole food source for themselves and their offspring. The species is polyphagous on broadleaf trees and shrubs, infesting stressed nursery stock, young trees, and stacked timber, causing economic damage in forestry and agriculture.
ambrosia-beetle fungus-farming invasive-species wood-borer pest Scolytinae mycophagy mutualism polyphagous
Zaprionus
Fig Flies
Zaprionus is a genus of fruit flies in the family Drosophilidae, distinguished by conspicuous white longitudinal stripes across the head and thorax. The genus is divided into two subgenera based on stripe number: Zaprionus (even number of stripes) and Anaprionus (odd number of stripes). Species occur primarily in Africa and southern Asia, with several species showing invasive expansion. The genus is taxonomically nested within the paraphyletic genus Drosophila.
Drosophilidae fruit-flies invasive-species zebra-stripes Afrotropical Oriental agricultural-pest fermenting-fruit parasitoid-host kleptoparasitism oviscapt-structure egg-filaments fig-pest grape-pest berry-pest tropical subgenus-Zaprionus subgenus-Anaprionus competitive-displacement secondary-pest monitoring vinegar-trap range-expansion Mediterranean-invasion New-World-invasion Hawaiian-Islands Southeast-Asia West-Africa polyphagous decomposer nutrient-cycling Pachycrepoideus-vindemiae Spalangia-endius Leptopilina-boulardi interspecific-competition developmental-plasticity temperature-effects fungal-interactions Pichia-kudriavzevii Coquillett-1901 taxonomic-revision molecular-phylogenetics foreleg-spines trichome-structures light-polarization cuticular-pigmentation species-groups-armatus-inermis-vittiger-neglectus species-subgroups-armatus-tuberculatus-vrydaghi-montanus-spinosus-inermis-tuberculatus-sepsoides-davidi-indianus-ornatus-proximus-sexvittatus-vittiger species-complexes-armatus-hoplophorus-vrydaghi-sepsoides-tuberculatus-davidi-indianus-ornatus-proximus-sexvittatus-vittiger Z.-africanus Z.-armatus Z.-bogoriensis Z.-burlai Z.-camerounensis Z.-campestris Z.-capensis Z.-cercociliaris Z.-cercus Z.-davidi Z.-enoplomerus Z.-flavofasciatus Z.-fumipennis Z.-gabonicus Z.-ghesquierei Z.-grandis Z.-hoplophorus Z.-inermis Z.-indianus Z.-kolodkinae Z.-koroleu Z.-lachaisei Z.-lineosus Z.-litos Z.-mascariensis Z.-momorticus Z.-montanus Z.-multistriatus Z.-multivittiger Z.-neglectus Z.-niabu Z.-obscuricornis Z.-ornatus Z.-proximus Z.-pyinoolwinensis Z.-santomensis Z.-sepsoides Z.-seguyi Z.-serratus Z.-sexstriatus Z.-sexvittatus Z.-silvistriatus Z.-spinilineosus Z.-spinipes Z.-spinoarmatus Z.-spineus Z.-spinosus Z.-taronus Z.-tsacasi Z.-tuberarmatus Z.-tuberculatus Z.-verruca Z.-vittiger Z.-vrydaghi Z.-aungsani Z.-arduus Z.-badyi Z.-orissaensis

Polyphagous

Guides

Vanessa cardui

Xenotemna

Xyleborinus andrewesi

Xylosandrus crassiusculus

Zaprionus