Vegetables, fruits, insects, and other foods are popular sources of bird food. But bees and wasps are not commonly seen as the bird’s food. So many birdwatchers have questions do birds eat wasps?
Yes, birds do eat wasps, and the nutrition present in wasps is beneficial for birds’ health. But not all birds usually prefer to eat, and only skilled birds usually have been seen eating wasps. Please find out more about which birds and how they try to attack them for eating.
Table of Contents:
- Are Wasps Safe For Birds?
- Do Birds Like Wasps?
- Are Birds Afraid Of Wasps?
- Do Birds Attack Wasps?
- Do Birds Eat Wasp Larvae?
- Which Birds Eat Wasps?
- Conclusion
Are Wasps Safe For Birds?
Birds can eat many different kinds of insects, including worms, wasps, flies, etc. It means wasps are safe for birds, and birds can eat them. Their sting can cause problems for birds, but birds can defend themselves against these wasp’s stings.
Birds have uncountable facial feathers that secrete a sedative chemical that helps in disorienting the wasps and then make them tractable. If a bird is looking for wasp larvae or wants to eat wasps, it can easily hold out against many stings from the wasps.
Do BIrds Eat Spiders?
Do Birds Like Wasps?
Yes, birds like eating wasps. Summer tanagers are one of those who love eating wasps. Summer tanagers are from the group of scarlet tanagers, and they all like to eat wasps.
These birds do not consume any specific type of bee. They fly in the air and catch wasps, bees, and hornets and eat them occasionally. Birds used to press wasps on the branch, so then they will kill them.
Those birds who eat bugs daily also like eating wasps. Some birds that hunt down the wasp purposely are magpies, starlings, and magpies.
For some birds, wasps are served as an occasional snack, and these birds are nighthawks, sparrows, warblers, wrens, woodpeckers, orioles, and bluebirds. These birds, especially the wrens, can eat adult wasps and their larvae and pupae in the nest.
Birds can easily catch wasps without getting stung by them and those birds who like to eat insects also like eating wasps. Bee-eaters are a group of birds that also feed on wasps.
Some birds do not attack the nests of wasps. They feed on them in the air when they are far from their nest. At the same time, some birds attack their nests to feed on them. Do birds eat cranberries?
Are Birds Afraid Of Wasps?
No, birds are not afraid of wasps. They enjoy eating them without getting stung by these wasps. They can guard themselves with the help of their feather and enjoy the treat of wasps.
Birds can eat both adult wasps and wasps larvae. Bee-eaters, purple martins, summer tanagers, and scarlet tanager feed on adult wasps. On the other hand, the birds who prefer eating wasps larvae are honey buzzards.
Do Birds Attack Wasps?
Yes, birds attack wasps to hunt them down. But they try to attack them when they are in the air. Summer tanagers are one of the wasp’s predators. They attack wasp nests to feed on their larvae.
For eating adult wasps, they attack them in the air. These birds drag them against any tree near them, so then the sting of wasps will break off and not hurt them.
Other than summer tanagers, some birds like house wrens, chipping sparrows, orioles, etc., also feed on wasps.
The majority of the birds prefer solitary wasps, for example, the mud dauber. There are very few chances for solitary wasps to sting. Birds can easily enjoy their larva as these wasps are not defensive.
In the case of social wasps, there is a big chance of getting stung by many wasps if they attack their nest, but this is not the case for solitary wasps.
Birds prefer solitary hunting wasps instead of social wasps. When attacked, the social wasps emit a pheromone that acts as an alarm for their nest-mates and alerts them about the danger, and then they start attacking, and all this can be avoided by hunting solitary wasps.
The Honey Buzzards are equipped with a thick layer of feathers. There are two main purposes for these feathers. First, it saves them from the stings of the wasps.
Do Birds Eat Worms?
Second, when they hunt wasps by putting their head inside their nest, it confuses their prey, and they can easily have their snack. The ruby-throated hummingbird attacks wasps and other insects when they fly around the nectar.
Do Birds Eat Wasp Larvae?
Yes, there are some birds that can eat both wasp larvae and adults. Honey-buzzard is one of them that can feed on wasps larvae. These birds have to attack the nest of wasps directly, so they feed on the larvae of wasps.
Because wasps larvae do not come out of their nests, birds use their claws to open the nest of wasps and grab on wasps larvae. When they do so, wasps attack them and start stinging them.
The feathers present on their face works as armor against the wasp stings at that time. And hence they succeed in eating wasps larvae. Honey buzzards easily stick their head into the nest of wasps without having any problem.
Which Birds Eat Wasps?
There are various birds that feed on wasps, either their adult wasp or their larvae. Out of all bird species, 24 species eat wasps.
Birds who like to eat wasps are as follows:
- Chipping sparrows
- Night hawks
- Gray catbirds
- Wrens
- Warblers
- Starlings
- Orioles
- Blackbirds
- Bluebirds
- Magpies
- Chickadees
These birds are not the only birds who eat wasps, and there is a long list of wasp-eating birds that goes on.
Starlings, mockingbirds, red-throated caracara, and birds can eat bees, known as bee-eaters, and tanagers feed on wasps.
Bee-eater is the most common bird family that eats wasps. They live in Eurasia, Australia, and Africa (in the tropical and subtropical regions only).
The European bee-eater, blue-bearded bee-eater, and red-bearded bee-eater are those bee-eaters who feed on wasps, bees, and other flying insects.
Those birds who do not eat wasps are opportunists, and those who eat wasps are specialists. Some birds prefer eating adults, and the same goes for wasps larvae.
The northern mockingbird from North America eats wasps and other flying insects in summer. The summer tanager from South America, north southern America, and Central America do the same, and they also eat wasps and bees in the summer.
These birds can also eat wasps in their wintering and breeding ground. They sit near the nest of wasps to feed on them whenever wasps come outside from their nest.
Conclusion
Wasps are part of the diet of some birds, and these birds enjoy eating wasps. Birds need to attack most of the time for eating them. Some birds like to eat wasps, and only a few of them can attack adult wasps.
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