Birds Eat Beetles

Yesterday I posted about Spotted Cucumber Beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) (which has just been revised). They are not something that you want in your vegetable garden. They particularly like cucurbits, or melons, gourds, squash and cucumbers.

Today I happened upon this photograph from last summer of an Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea). I’m not sure that the image will allow you to see it, but on my computer I can clearly see that it has captured, and is about to eat a Spotted Cucumber Beetle.

A friend of many years (I’d say an “old” friend, but he is not old!) asked me about controlling these beetles. Well, here ya go Blaine, one environmentally friendly method of control is to encourage birds to visit your garden and help with these pests. Even if they aren’t interested in nuts and seeds that you might offer, a birdbath is a great attraction.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.

4 thoughts on “Birds Eat Beetles”

  1. Isn’t it wonderful how #wildlife takes care of business, working together. The needs of the #birds and the #beetles come full circle in the garden.

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