bees vs. hummingbirds

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welshmom93 Posted: 11-03-2009 5:17 PM

Help! I had a hummingbird feeder out all summer, got no birds, took it down end of August. THEN I got hummers at my petunias! Hooray! Hung the feeder back up, watched males and females come to it for 3 days, then tragedy! My neighbor has honey bee hives, and they swarmed the feeder! I had to take it down for a few days, but nothing helped. They just swarmed it every time I hung it up, scaring away the birds, (and my kids!) The beekeeper tried to keep the bees at the hives by putting sugar water IN the hives, but no luck. I gave up, it was mid September by then, and it seemed like the hummingbirds had migrated, but maybe they just left MY house. Any suggestions to keep this from happening next year? I REALLY enjoy feeding the hummers on my stone patio, I live in Pennsylvania.

Thanks!

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txhummers replied on 11-03-2009 6:17 PM

I personally do not worry about bees at my feeders (though with kids I certainly understand).  I have watched the hummingbirds eat bees so I just let them get a little protein.  Even when my feeders have been swarmed, I have yet to see the bees keep the birds from feeding.

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jack57 replied on 11-03-2009 9:54 PM

txhummers:

I personally do not worry about bees at my feeders (though with kids I certainly understand).  I have watched the hummingbirds eat bees so I just let them get a little protein.  Even when my feeders have been swarmed, I have yet to see the bees keep the birds from feeding.

I have wasps at my feeder and it never slowed down my hummer. However wouldn't it hurt the hummer if it got stung while eating a bee or wasp? Just curious. Here is a Hummer/Wasp shot I took last summer.

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txhummers replied on 11-04-2009 3:53 AM

jack57:

wouldn't it hurt the hummer if it got stung while eating a bee or wasp

I honestly do not know, but two things tell me this is not just a fluke:

1) Hummingbirds are not alone in eating bees - bees are the primary food source of Tanagers.

2) The last timeI saw a hummingbird eat a bee, it was not simply fly up to a swarmed feeder and take a bite - I watched the bird stalk a specific bee around the feeder a couple of times.  Two attempts missed the bee but the third brought dinner time!

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lovefinch88MI replied on 11-05-2009 9:28 AM

  I had bees on my feeder - but not enough to keep the hummingbirds away.  It wasn't until late in the summer the yellow jackets swarmed my feeders.  If your feeder leaks it will attract the bees.  I would suggest you try a saucer style feeder, the bees have a hard time reaching the sugar water - here is a link to show you what it looks like. 

http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=ASP-153