Top 5 Bugs for Backyard Birds
- AlexANTra
- Mar 30
- 8 min read
Bugs are on the menu, and they get 10/10 stars from our avian taste-testers. Slimy, yet satisfying.
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Bug Out - A songbird's reliance on insects
Nearly all songbirds rely primarily on insects for food. While seeds or berries contain vital nutrients, they don’t carry enough raw protein and energy. During nesting season, parents need the extra boost insects provide, and nestlings require insect-powered energy to grow strong and healthy. 96% of birds require insects in their diet, and most birds feed their young exclusively on arthropods. Just one family of Cliff Swallows eats approximately 5,000 insects in a day. A baby House Wren will eat over 12,000 bugs before it fledges. That’s a lot of insects! Finding that many can be a monumental task for an adult bird, but there are things we can do to help out these tired parent birds.
Areas that have many bugs have many birds.
We can bring more birds to our yards by planting insect-friendly habitats and supporting our local nesting neighbors. If you need ideas for plants native to your area, I recommend reading our planting article!
To maximize the impact on our avian friends, we need to know what bugs are best! Not all insects are equal, and by making sure the best bugs are available, we can keep local birds as happy as possible!
If you HAD to eat a bug, which would you choose?
Caterpillar
Ant
Beetle
Fly
Lepidopterans - Moths and butterflies for birds
The larval stages of Lepidopterans (moths and butterflies) are big, juicy, and relatively defenseless. Unlike most insects, caterpillars do not have a carapace exoskeleton. Tough armor can challenge some birds, but caterpillars make an easy and tasty meal. Not to mention, they are MASSIVE! A caterpillar is like a five-course meal, especially compared to most other bugs on the menu. One caterpillar could equal a hundred aphids, and hunting one bug is much easier than hunting one hundred.
What Birds Eat Moths & Butterflies
Any bird would happily snatch up a caterpillar. I cannot think of a single bird that doesn’t love eating these tasty treats. Warblers, wrens, chickadees, thrushes, and sparrows have an affinity for these bugs in their larval state, while the adults will lure in charismatic kingbirds and flycatchers. A yard full of moths and butterflies (primarily as caterpillars) will ensure you also have a yard full of birds!
How To Attract Moths & Butterflies
Native plants always attract more bugs, birds, and wildlife than non-native plants. If you want large numbers of birds visiting your house, make sure to plant a lot of high-quality natives.
While some caterpillars have specialized to live on coniferous (needled) trees, most prefer deciduous (broad-leafed) plants. Of these, oaks are king. Oak trees support a vast diversity of caterpillars. However, the ground beneath a tree is equally important to consider. Most caterpillars fall to the ground to pupate. Soil must be loose enough to burrow into, and leaf litter should be left on the ground.
In addition to providing trees and shrubs for caterpillars to shelter on, flowering plants are also important because of their nectar. As moths and butterflies emerge from their cocoons, they search for food. Plants with a large nectar load incentivize these insects to visit your yard first. Asters, like coneflowers, are an excellent option.
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Learn your local bugs!
Dipterans - Fed flies feed fowl
There are thousands of species of flies, most of which are aquatic in their larval stages. Perhaps most importantly for birds, each species tends to emerge from the water within a short time period. This means that birds have ample food during each emergence. With Mayflies, Juneflies, and Julyflies, this means steady food for birds all summer long (though Juneflies and Julyflies are made up, tons of different species DO emerge every summer month).
What Birds Eat Flies
As insects emerge from the water, they disperse and become an invaluable food source for many birds. As their name suggests, flycatchers love flies. Other insectivorous birds, like peewees and kingbirds, also snatch flies out of the air. However, flies are perhaps most important to swallows. Find a river or wetland, and you will also see huge flocks of swallows flying above. With their wide mouths, they catch any bug that crosses their path, most of which are flies. Swallows depend upon the early emergence of flies for their spring migrations.
How To Attract Flies
Attracting flies is not a difficult task, as most people know. Flies can be pesky. However, having diversity in the species of flies and other insects near your home can keep the pesky ones to a minimum because healthy ecosystems tend to have fewer pests.
Running water is key to attracting a large diversity of flies. Mosquitoes prefer stagnant pools, and in running water, other aquatic insects will eat mosquito larvae. Additionally, many flies enjoy nectar treats from flowering plants. Ensure a diversity of plants with bold aromatics, and the bugs and birds will follow.
Coleopterans - Scare up birds with scarabs
Beetles are also popular snacks for many birds. As larvae, they are similar to caterpillars—juicy and easy to eat. However, as adults, they grow thick, tough carapace elytra. The elytra is an unusual body part. It is a modified and evolved front wing that protects the beetles. While the elytra is a unique and helpful adaptation for beetles, it does make them worse fliers. This means that beetles are easy for birds to catch, and many birds have robust, powerful bills that can crack the beetle’s defenses.
What Birds Eat Beetles
Because beetles can be tough nuts to crack, they are eaten by larger birds with more powerful crunching power. The primary eaters of beetles are raptors, woodpeckers, jays, blackbirds, kingbirds, and thrushes.
How To Attract Beetles
Many beetles need trees for larvae to live in, but others are happy on flowers. Planting a diversity of native trees, shrubs, and flowers will attract the most beetles. Sunflower, yarrow, and goldenrod are all beetle favorites that will draw some attention. Some beetles are lovers of detritus, so leaving leaves and other natural plant matter alone can also help. Oh, and when it is safe to do so, leave snags (dead trees) alone!
Learn more about the movement to plant yards for bugs, birds, and the benefit of all.
Hemipterans - True bugs for true birds
True bugs are a diverse group of insects in the order Hemiptera. (Bug is a weird word that is used in bizarre ways around the world of insects and other arthropods. In this case, it is used for an order of insects; in the broad sense, the term bug can even refer to non-insects.) Their defining characteristic is their piercing mouth parts. They usually use their unique mouths to pierce plant parts and eat sap. Cicadas, aphids, squash bugs, and leaf hoppers are better-known members of this group. Many gardeners hold a grudge against these creatures. However, letting these insects populate your garden can be an excellent way to attract a wide range of birds. Then, the birds can do you the favor of de-pesting your garden.
What Birds Eat True Bugs
Wrens, warblers, and chickadees enjoy hemipteran snacks. These birds are ‘gleaners,’ meaning that they search foliage for insects to pluck off. This foraging strategy results in the discovery of many insects, primarily true bugs.
How To Attract True Bugs
Employ techniques like those mentioned in previous sections to attract true bugs. A diversity of native trees, shrubs, and plants will attract many bugs and birds. With their sucking mouthparts, however, vascular plants and woody plants that generate fast growth can both be a big food source for true bugs.
Hymenopterans - Bee on the lookout for birds
The order Hymenoptera consists of ants, bees, and wasps. Of these, ants, in particular, are of interest to birds. Ants are some of the most fascinating insects. They engage in incredible behaviors, like farming aphids and fungi, strategizing wartime tactics, and designing intricate colony structures. These amazing insects are everywhere, and their ubiquity has made them a popular treat for many creatures.
What Birds Eat Ants and Bees
Northern Flickers are known for their voracious appetite for ants. While they enjoy eating the bugs, they also have an affinity for ant baths. They find a colony of ants and sit on it. The angry ants swarm over the bird, spraying formic acid. The acid doesn’t hurt the bird but kills parasites hiding in their feathers! In addition to flickers, sparrows, wrens, and other woodpeckers also regularly enjoy ants. Tanagers, such as the Summer Tanager, are known to hang around beehives and pick off stray bees.
How To Attract Ants and Bees
To attract ants and subsequent birds to your yard, ensure you host a healthy ecosystem. Some species of ants will enjoy nectar and seeds from flowers, but many eat other insects. Healthy ecosystems rely on diverse plant communities, so by planting many different natives, you can make your yard a haven for birds. As for native bees (which do not include honeybees), most are adapted to local flora. Replace non-native flowers with native varieties to better feed native bees. Plant flowers that bloom at different times to aid bees in all seasons.
Honorable Mention: Spiders
Spiders are not insects, so they do not make this top-five list. However, they are a source of food for many birds. Any bird would eagerly snatch up a spider, but wrens, thrushes, and flycatchers, in particular, enjoy these arthropods. Spiders are diverse, and it is likely that at least a few species already live in your yard. Attracting more takes minimal work. Plant some bushes and native grasses for them to shelter in, as well as native flowering plants where some spiders hunt.
Honorable Mention: Grasshoppers
Grasshoppers are a vital source of food for countless prairie bird species. Many sparrows and larks in grasslands, arid sagebrush steppes, and similar areas rely on tasty grasshopper sustenance. Even Burrowing Owls primarily feed on grasshoppers.
Grasshoppers are vital for these birds, but most species that need them do not regularly visit backyards, so grasshoppers do not make the Top 5 Bugs for Backyard Birds. However, if you are lucky enough to live in areas where these birds may occur, ensure a healthy supply of grasshoppers for them! To do so, just have plenty of tall grass!
Have fun while learning about birds!
Bugs, Birds, Battlestar Galactica
The Flocking Around Roost has seen its members spend much time planting trees, bushes, and plants that birds and bugs enjoy. As a result, our yard has become entirely awesome! With 94 different documented bird species, countless caterpillars, butterflies, bees, several ant colonies, bunnies, foxes, deer, and a weasel, the Roost is a haven for wildlife, and being close to that wildlife makes the Roost a fantastic place to live.
Transforming your yard into a sanctuary for birds is a fantastic project, and the results are more than worth the effort. By introducing diverse plants to the area, bugs and birds will flock to your home. They make for the best neighbors!
Flocking Around posts silly, informative articles about wildlife. To keep up-to-date with the latest from Flocking Around, Join the Flock, subscribe to our Flocking YouTube, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter, and visit our Amazon Storefront.
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