Bees at my Hummingbird Feeder

Question: I bought a hummingbird feeder from a big box store and all that came to the

 feeder were bees. I see that you have a Best 1 hummingbird feeder that is supposed solve that problem. Why don’t the birds simply eat the bees? How does the Best 1 feeder solve the bee problem?

Answer: Birds do not eat bees because bees are dangerous! A bird would have to know instinctively how to catch a bee and remove the stinger before the bee can harm the bird. I have read about a captive American Crow that was stung in the throat and died with in minutes.

I know of only three birds in North America that have mastered the feat of eating bees. Two are the Eastern and Western Kingbird. One study suggested that 32% of the Eastern Kingbird’s diet consists of bees, wasps and ants.  Although I do not know what percentage of the Western Kingbird’s diet consists of bee and wasps, their eating these insects is well documented.

The Summer Tanager is the other bird that will eat bees. The Summer Tanager has a longer beak than other tanagers thus it can keep the captured bee away from its face. The tanager will fly with the bee to a perch, slam the bee into the perch until it is dead. It then wipes the bee across the perch until the stinger is removed.

There is a group of birds primarily in Africa and Asia known as bee-eaters.  They have very colorful plumage, long downturned bills and very pointed wings.  These may be the birds you are thinking about, unfortunately they will not help you with your bee problem.

Now to solve your bee problem!  The Best 1 Hummingbird Feeder is a gravity fed feeder that fills the saucer section.  If you take a Best 1 saucer apart you will see that the neck of the bottle extends into the base about half an

 inch. The nectar will only fill to the bottom of the Best 1 bottle.   This means that the saucer has a half  inch of space above the  nectar.  Bees and wasps cannot reach the nectar to feed.  If the temperature makes the nectar expand, the saucer is still capable of holding the nectar thus eliminating the dripping that you may experience with some hummingbird feeders.  If you have bees checking out the feeder, simply move the feeder to a shady spot.  Bees are ectotherms.  They want to stay in the sun to keep their body temperature regulated.

I hope this explains why the Best 1 Hummingbird Feeder will solve the bee problem you experienced with the other feeder.  Feel free to contact us if you have more questions.  If we are talking about birds, we are having a great day!