Hummingbirds are some of the most beautiful birds in the world. Their striking plumage and long, slender beaks also make them successful hunters. While many believe that hummingbirds only live from the nectar of flowers, they also eat insects, flies, aphids, spiders, and many other small bugs.
Do hummingbirds eat bugs?
Yes, Hummingbirds don’t just feed on nectar and plant material, but they also eat bugs and insects. Hummingbirds feed on a great variety of insects, providing an essential source of fibers, minerals, vitamins, and fats.
Bugs that a hummingbird feeds on
Bugs are an important part of a hummingbird’s diet. Here are all the different types of bugs that a hummingbird eats regularly.
Leafhoppers
Leafhoppers are small insects that stick to shrubs, grass and trees. They are full up proteins that hummingbirds need for a healthy diet.
Hummingbirds particularly like a variety of different leafhopper species, including beet leafhopper, rice green leafhopper, two-spotted leafhopper, potato leafhopper, and maize leafhopper.
Beetles
There are over 400,000 species of beetles in the world, but hummingbirds don’t like all of them. Plus, hummingbirds only live in tropical areas where not all beetle species make their home.
Hummingbirds typically feed on tiger beetles, ground beetles, grapevine beetles, carpet beetles, Japanese beetles and striped cucumber beetles.
Wasps
Despite their potential to sting, wasps are another delicacy that hummingbirds enjoy feeding on.
There is a large range of wasps that are part of the hummingbird’s diet, such as paper wasps, sand wasps, mason wasps, spider wasp,s and yellowjackets.
Spiders
Although hummingbirds are just small birds, they are able to dodge the fangs of spiders. There are over 45,000 recognized spider species worldwide.
The most common spider species across the US are also the ones that hummingbirds like, such as ant spiders, grass spiders, woodlouse spiders, wolf spiders, and black widow spiders.
Aphids
Aphids are one of the best-known pests across gardens worldwide. These small insects have long, thin legs and tiny bodies. They also come in different colors, including pink, brown, green, black, and even colorless.
Hummingbirds enjoy aphids as a snack. They particularly like cotton aphids, cabbage aphids, yellow sugarcane aphids, soybean aphids, and beech blight aphids.
Harvestmen
Harvestmen are commonly known as Daddy Longlegs thanks to their large, long legs. While they look a little like spiders, they don’t have venom glands.
This makes them harmless and the ideal prey for hummingbirds.
Ants
There are an incredible 22,000 species of ants across the world. This gives hummingbirds plenty of variety to choose from for a healthy diet.
Hummingbirds usually eat a range of ant species, including rover ants, guest ants, leaf-cutter ants, army ants, cone ants and needle ants.
Mites
Mites are often so small that it’s impossible to see them with the human eye. They live in different habitats, including soil, compost and even in our homes.
Flies
There are thousands of different fly species across the globe, but hummingbirds commonly feed on crane flies, mountain midges, humble flies, Mydas flies, window flies, and snipe flies.
Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes are similar in size to flies, but they are much slender and lighter. There are over 3,500 identified mosquito species worldwide.
Gnats
Gnats are small, flying insects that cannot just bite but spread diseases with their bite.
Common gnat species that hummingbirds feed on are fungus gnats, eye gnats, hessian flies, sand gnats, and buffalo gnats.
How do hummingbirds hunt bugs
It’s easy to forget that these beautiful birds are also predators that hunt bugs, insects, and other living things. There are a few different techniques that hummingbirds use to catch their prey.
Hummingbirds catch bugs from leaves
One of the most common ways for birds to catch bugs is by snatching them from leaves, bark, flowers, and even spider webs. Hummingbirds are known as thieves of the bird world, so they often hunt living bugs that are trapped elsewhere.
Hummingbirds catch bugs in the air
The hunting method unique to hummingbirds is that they can also catch bugs while they hover in midair. Hummingbirds can even hunt their prey when bugs are just flying nearby. This happens in a matter of milliseconds, making it invisible to the human eye.
Final Thoughts
A hummingbird eats bugs and small insects because it needs the additional protein and nutrients from these small critters.
