Bees play a vital role in humans and plant lives. As for humans, their honey is a source of natural sugar along with numerous health benefits. However, bees are used in several medicines. And for plants, bees play an essential role in the pollination of flowers. Because pollination of flowers is required for the fertilization of flowers. However, as in the ecosystem, each and every living thing has predators to fill the tummies of other animals. And it is also necessary to control their population. So ever you think that who’s the predator of bees? Are skunks their predators? Do skunks eat bees?
This article will look through all these questions. So if you are interested to know about it, then navigate this article. This article will serve you like a book about all the facts about bees and their predators. So let’s start.
However, yes-skunks eat bees. Therefore, they are on the list of bee’s predators. As they eat bees and drink honey, with this, they don’t bother the stings of bees, not even in their mouths. However, let’s dig into this fact more in detail.
Do Skunks Eat Bees?
Skunks are mammals that belong to the family of Mephitidae. They have different looks due to their black fur with a white stripe in the middle. However, sometimes they have more than one white stripe, which makes them more visible to others.
However, basically, skunks are omnivorous, and they can eat both plant and animal based food. And thus, their food consists of rodents, insects, birds and their eggs, etc. Moreover, in plants, they can eat carrots, peas, corn, etc. And in fruits, they can eat barriers, apples, bananas, pears, etc. Not only this, but skunks can also eat oatmeal, cereal, rice, etc.
However, in the list of insects, they can eat almost every insect, including bees. And to eat bees, they used to rub or scratch the surface of the hive so that the bees come out from it. When bees come out from the hive, they use to snatch them to eat.
Not only do skunks eat them, but they also can throw their hard material after extracting juice from them. However, they are dangerous predators for bees as their stings don’t affect them, not even in their mouths.
As bees are a great source of proteins for skunks, that is why skunks bore the pain of stings. And being their natural predators, they used to eat bees again and again until they were available.
What Predators Kills Honey Bees?
Not only skunks but honey bees also have other predators that attack beehive hives to eat bees and drink honey. Let’s discuss all bees predators one by one in detail.
Bears:
Like skunks, bears are also bees natural predators. And thus, as skunks eat bees and keep coming to the hive until they are not done with all the bees and honey similarly, bears keep coming to the hive once they find it.
However, bears are also not affected due to the bee’s stings and keep enjoying until their tummies are not packed with this healthy and delicious meal. Sometimes, bears squeeze the beehive to extract the honey and bees from it, opposite to skunks who used to rub the hive until bees came out by themselves.
Beewolves Or Wasps:
These insects are also on the list of bee’s predators as they eat bees by themselves and feed these bees to their brood. However, these predators are not dangerous to honeybees as skunks and bears.
As wasps are tiny compared to other predators, they don’t need too many bees for their meal. However, wasps do not kill honeybees on the spot to eat, but at first they paralyzed it with their sting.
And then, they preserve the honeybee by producing specific gas to avoid the production of bacteria in the hive. Usually, they preserve the honeybee for their later meal.
Hive Beetles:
These tiny insects have also preyed on bees, but they are used to do this for weak, ill, or abandoned hives. However, the reason is that they are not dangerous or powerful predators of bees and can easily be killed by worker bees if they attack a healthy hive.
Bee-Eaters Birds:
These birds belong to the Meropidae family, but they live in certain areas of the world. It means that these bees predators are common around the world. However, these birds specifically look for bees as bees make primary part of their food.
Moreover, they used to pluck the bees from the air, not from their hives. And after that, they rub bees to remove their stings and other toxins so that they can enjoy a healthy meal. However, their long and slightly curvy beak helps them to fulfil their mission.
Deforestation Effects:
However, not only some critters are predators of bees. But honeybees also have many other threats for their extinction. And defrosting is one of them, as with the development of humans, deforestation increases which is also the main threat to bees.
Read also: Why Do Raccoons Fight With Each Other?
How Do I Protect My Beehives from Skunk and Other Predators?
Honey bees are a great source of honey for humans, a natural source with great health benefits for us. That’s why several people around the world grow bees to get honey. First, however, you have to know how to keep them safe from predators simultaneously.
Because of it, I’m going to discuss the methods to keep bee predators away from them.
Skunks And bears:
These are the natural predators of honey bees. And they can cause extensive harm to bees as well as their hives. So if you are a bee-keeper, you must keep them away from your yard, and for that, you can use different methods.
Fencing: To protect bees from them, fencing around bee farms is essential. As a good fence can keep skunks and bears away from bees. Not only this, but you can also use an electric fence to keep skunks and bears away from your bee farm.
Elevation Of Hive: Moreover, this is also another trick to keep predators away from the bees and beehives. As elevating beehives at enough height can prevent them to be a meal of skunks and bears.
However, if you have a beehive on trees, then make sure that trees shouldn’t have climbing parts to help climb skunks and bears.
Are Skunks Dangerous to Humans?
However, skunks are not dangerous to humans in the sense of attacking. But they can be harmful to us because they can transfer many diseases to humans. Not only this, but their presence spread a strange and unpleasant smell.
A Final Word:
Do skunks eat bees? This article is all about exploring this question. As bees have a powerful weapon know as their sting. And for humans, if anyone has this unpleasant behaviour, then we know that only one sting of honeybee going to be enormously painful.
That’s why for many of us is surprising that instead of it, these insects have natural predators. And skunks are one of them. However, not only skunks but bears, possums, bee-eater birds, wasps are also their predators.
However, you can avoid them if you are a bee-keeper by placing fencing, elevating the hive, and using the electric fence to keep them safe from their natural predators.