Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Nectar Thief

On the way home from the Poconos this morning I stopped at my new house to check on a few things. I noticed that the liquid level in my hummingbird feeder had dropped dramatically since the last time I saw it. Had swarms of hummingbirds descended on my feeder while I wasn't looking? On closer inspection I saw this:

So is that what's been happening here? Have wasps and hornets been sucking up the nutrient-rich instant nectar substitute that I've been leaving out for the hummingbirds? At first I thought that maybe this insect was dead, but looking closely I could see that its abdomen was pulsing as it drank. It ignored my presence, even when I rotated the feeder so a neighbor could get a better look.

I wonder if this feeder has attracted any hummingbirds at all?

1 comment:

whimsical brainpan said...

Wasps, yellowjackets, and hornets will do that. I have heard the putting vegetable oil on the feeder ports will keep them away and not bother the hummingbirds.