The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single  genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend  to multiple genera within a single plant family, or be as narrow as a single plant species.  The opposite term is polylectic, and refers to species that collect pollen from a wide range of species. The best example is the domestic honey bee. Such pollinators are often called oligoleges or simply specialist pollinators, and this behavior is especially common in the bee families Andrenidae and Halictidae, as well as the genus Ptilothrix. Under the family Andrenidae is the species Macrotera portalis, in which observations have suggested it is oligolectic. Macrotera portalis is a communal, ground nesting bee that has been found to preferentially pollinate certain host flowers of the same species.Andrena agilissima is another oligolectic mining bee that prefers different types of wild mustard and radish plants. Attempts have been made to determine whether this narrow host preference is due to an inability of the bee larvae to digest and develop on a variety of pollen types, or a limitation of the adult bee's learning and perception (i.e., they simply do not recognize other flowers as potential food sources), and most of the available evidence suggests the latter. However, a few plants whose pollen contains toxic substances (e.g., Toxicoscordion and related genera in the Melanthieae) are visited by oligolectic bees, and these may fall into the former category  .
The term oligolecty is used in pollination ecology to refer to bees that exhibit a narrow, specialized preference for pollen sources, typically to a single family or genus of flowering plants. The preference may occasionally extend broadly to multiple genera within a single plant family, or be as narrow as a single plant species. When the choice is very narrow, the term "monolecty" is sometimes used, originally meaning a single plant species, but recently broadened to include examples where the host plants are related members of a single genus. Cane, J.H. (2020) A brief review of monolecty in bees and benefits of a broadened definition. Apidologie 2020 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-020-00785-y The opposite term is polylectic, and refers to species that collect pollen from a wide range of species. The most familiar example of a polylectic species is the domestic honey bee. Oligolectic pollinators are often called oligoleges or simply specialist pollinators, and this behavior is especially common in the bee families Andrenidae and Halictidae, though there are thousands of species in hundreds of genera, in essentially all known bee families; in certain areas of the world, such as deserts, oligoleges may represent half or more of all the resident bee species.Michener, C.D. (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press; pp. 19-21. Attempts have been made to determine whether a narrow host preference is due to an inability of the bee larvae to digest and develop on a variety of pollen types, or a limitation of the adult bee's learning and perception (i.e., they simply do not recognize other flowers as potential food sources), and most of the available evidence suggests the latter. However, a few plants whose pollen contains toxic substances (e.g., Toxicoscordion and related genera in the Melanthieae) are visited by oligolectic bees, and these may fall into the former category . The evidence from large-scale phylogenetic analyses of bee evolution suggests that, for most groups of bees, oligolecty is the ancestral condition and polylectic lineages arose from among those ancestral specialists .
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When the choice is very narrow, the term "monolecty" is sometimes used, originally meaning a single plant species, but recently broadened to include examples where the host plants are related members of a single genus. Cane, J.H. (2020) A brief review of monolecty in bees and benefits of a broadened definition. Apidologie 2020 DOI: 10.1007/s13592-020-00785-y
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as well as the genus Ptilothrix. Under the family Andrenidae is the species Macrotera portalis, in which observations have suggested it is oligolectic. Macrotera portalis is a communal, ground nesting bee that has been found to preferentially pollinate certain host flowers of the same species.Andrena agilissima is another oligolectic mining bee that prefers different types of wild mustard and radish plants.
though there are thousands of species in hundreds of genera, in essentially all known bee families; in certain areas of the world, such as deserts, oligoleges may represent half or more of all the resident bee species.Michener, C.D. (2007) The Bees of the World, 2nd Edition, Johns Hopkins University Press; pp. 19-21.
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. The evidence from large-scale phylogenetic analyses of bee evolution suggests that, for most groups of bees, oligolecty is the ancestral condition and polylectic lineages arose from among those ancestral specialists