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With their jewel-toned feathers and acrobatic flights, hummingbirds are fascinating to watch as they zip around your garden and whir by you with the hum of their fast-beating wings. But lately you’ve noticed that bees and wasps are visiting your hummingbird feeders, too. While nectar-loving insects are beneficial and welcome in the garden, you may not necessarily want them at your feeders—especially if they end up crawling into them and drowning.
You’ve probably guessed correctly that bees and other pollinator insects visithummingbird feeders because they like the same type of food these tiny birds do. “Bees are attracted to your hummingbird feeder because the sugar water in the feeder is similar to the nectar that bees look for in flowers,” says Becky Griffin, a pollinator health associate wit the University of Georgia’sGreat Southeast Pollinator Census. “Sometimes bees may be at your feeder because there are few nectar sources in your area.”
Maybe. “Hummingbirds can coexist with most insects in low densities,” says Chad Witko, senior coordinator of avian biology at theNational Audubon Society’s Migratory Bird Initiative. “However, aggressive species like hornets andwasps may deter them, especially in large quantities.”
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