Are you tired of Japanese beetles munching on your garden? These little critters are a real headache for many. Luckily, there’s a flock of feathered friends ready to help control these pests.
In this blog, we will have a look at 18 birds that see Japanese beetles as their next meal. Read on and find out who they are!
Why Birds Eat Japanese Beetles?
Birds eat Japanese beetles and other insects primarily for nutritional reasons. Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) are a common food source for many bird species due to their abundance during certain times of the year and the nutritional value they offer.
Here are some reasons why birds eat Japanese beetles:
- Protein Source: Japanese beetles, like many insects, are rich in protein, which is essential for birds, especially during breeding season when they need extra protein to lay eggs and feed their young.
- Fat Content: Insects also contain fats, which are an important energy source for birds, especially during migration or in colder climates.
- Easy to Catch: Japanese beetles often feed on flowers and foliage and can be relatively easy for birds to catch compared to other, more elusive insects.
- Abundance: During the summer months, Japanese beetles can be found in large numbers, making them a readily available food source for birds.
- Feeding Adaptation: Some bird species have developed specific feeding habits or adaptations that allow them to efficiently hunt and consume beetles and other insects.
Birds that are known to eat Japanese beetles include starlings, robins, grackles, and cardinals, among others. These birds can help control Japanese beetle populations, which is beneficial since these beetles are agricultural and garden pests, damaging a wide variety of plants.
18 Birds That Prey on Japanese Beetle
1) Common Grackle
Common Grackles pack a punch against Japanese beetles. These birds, with their iridescent black bodies and keen eyesight, are natural pest controllers in gardens and lawns. They hunt Japanese beetles with precision, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
Their diet not only includes these invasive pests but also various insects that threaten crops and green spaces.
Nesting near human habitats, Common Grackles benefit from birdhouses and bird baths installed by gardeners aiming for organic gardening. Attracting them can be as simple as providing berries or setting up a nestbox in your backyard.
With their help, managing Japanese beetle populations becomes more effective, offering relief to plants like raspberry, peach, and apricot that often fall victim to these bugs’ appetite for leaves and flowers.
2) Common Starling
The Common Starling loves hunting down Japanese beetles. With a keen eye, these birds scour lawns and fields, snatching up the invasive pests with ease. Their diet isn’t limited to just one type of insect; they’re also fond of other bugs that might harm your garden or crops.
This versatility makes them natural allies in pest management, reducing the need for insecticidal soaps or beneficial nematodes.
Starlings don’t migrate far for their food. They tend to stick close to home, which means if you’ve got Japanese beetles in your yard, there’s a good chance starlings are nearby waiting for their next meal.
Encouraging these birds into your yard can be as simple as setting up bird feeders filled with seeds that attract them or planting trees like mountain ash which they love. Not only do you get rid of unwanted pests naturally, but you also gain lively and useful garden helpers fluttering around your backyard.
3) Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinals stand out with their vibrant red feathers, easily catching the eye of any birdwatcher. These birds have a taste for Japanese beetles, making them a natural ally in managing these invasive species.
With a knack for hunting down the scarab beetle, Cardinals contribute to controlling its population in gardens and yards.
Spotting a Cardinal perched on a branch, pecking away at an unsuspecting Japanese beetle is not only satisfying; it’s evidence of nature’s own pest control at work. Encouraging these colorful birds into your area can help keep the beetle numbers down while providing a beautiful spectacle.
4) Western Bluebird
The Western bluebird, a member of the thrush family, preys on Japanese beetles as part of its diet. These small birds with brilliant blue plumage play a vital role in controlling insect populations, including the notorious Japanese beetle.
Known for their beautiful appearance and insect-killing prowess, Western bluebirds are cherished by birdwatchers and gardeners alike.
With their keen eyesight and nimble flight, Western bluebirds actively seek out insects like Japanese beetles to feed themselves and their young. Their contribution to pest management makes them valuable allies in maintaining the health of your garden or landscape.
5) Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Bluebirds are colorful and charismatic birds that can play a vital role in controlling Japanese beetle populations. These small thrush-like birds, with their striking blue plumage and rusty breast, are known to feed on insects like the Japanese beetle.
They particularly enjoy dining on beetles during their breeding season from spring to summer.
Attracting Eastern Bluebirds to your garden can be beneficial for managing Japanese beetles as part of your pest management strategies. By offering them suitable nesting sites, such as nest boxes or abandoned woodpecker holes, you can encourage these beautiful birds to frequent your yard.
Providing mealworms and having open spaces with short grass also entices them to visit.
6) American Robin
The American Robin is known to feed on Japanese beetles, making it a natural predator of this pest. With its distinctive red breast and melodic song, the American Robin is a common sight in many gardens and yards across North America.
These birds are particularly active during the early morning and late afternoon, when they can be seen foraging for food. Their diet includes a wide variety of insects, making them valuable allies in controlling the population of Japanese beetles.
These birds are highly adaptable and can thrive in various habitats, from woodlands to suburban areas. The American Robin’s preference for open spaces with short grass provides an ideal environment for hunting down Japanese beetles.
By attracting these beautiful birds to your yard through suitable landscaping and providing ample water sources, you can enlist their help in managing Japanese beetle populations naturally.
7) Gray Catbird
The gray catbird is a skillful predator of Japanese beetles. With its slate-gray plumage and distinctive call, this bird is known for its insect-eating habits. This agile species can be attracted to your garden by creating a hospitable environment with trees and shrubs providing cover, as well as water sources for drinking and bathing.
By fostering the right conditions, you can encourage the presence of these insect-hungry birds to help manage Japanese beetle populations in your area.
8) Brown Thrasher
The Brown Thrasher is a skilled predator of Japanese beetles, often seen foraging on the ground and in low vegetation. Renowned for its long, curved bill, the Brown Thrasher uses it to root out tasty beetle larvae and adults from the soil and leaf litter.
This bird’s varied diet also includes other insects, spiders, fruits, and berries.
With its striking reddish-brown plumage and bold yellow eyes, the Brown Thrasher is a welcoming sight in gardens where these pests are prevalent. Attracting this species can be beneficial as part of an integrated pest management approach to controlling Japanese beetles.
9) European Starling
European Starlings are proficient hunters of Japanese beetles. They play a crucial role in controlling the population of these pests. With their keen eyesight and quick reflexes, they snatch Japanese beetles from plants and turf grasses, helping to mitigate the damage caused by these invasive insects.
These adaptable birds have successfully integrated into urban and suburban environments, adding to their significance as natural pest controllers.
Additionally, European Starlings are social creatures that often forage in flocks, which means that they can have a considerable impact on reducing Japanese beetle numbers when present in large numbers.
10) Blue Jay
Blue Jays are known for their distinctive blue plumage with white chest and underparts. They are omnivorous birds, feeding on various insects, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Their diet includes Japanese beetles along with other pests like caterpillars and grasshoppers.
With their keen eyesight and agile nature, Blue Jays are effective at hunting down Japanese beetles in gardens and yards. Attracting these birds to your outdoor space can help control the population of Japanese beetles naturally without the use of harmful pesticides or chemical controls.
11) American Crow
The American crow is a common sight across North America and can often be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas. These intelligent birds are known for their distinctive cawing calls and glossy black plumage.
They possess sharp bills that aid them in feeding on a variety of foods, including insects, small mammals, fruits, seeds, and even carrion. Their keen intelligence makes them adept at problem-solving and resourcefulness when foraging for food.
Additionally, American crows are opportunistic feeders known to scavenge from human settlements and garbage dumps.
American crows also play an important role in controlling pest populations as they consume large numbers of grubs like Japanese beetles. Their omnivorous diet makes them valuable allies in managing insect pests naturally.
12) Fish Crow
Fish crows are known for their distinct calls and glossy black plumage. They have a varied diet, which includes consuming Japanese beetles. These intelligent birds can be found near water bodies, coastal areas, and marshlands.
Fish crows are great allies in controlling the population of Japanese beetles due to their natural predatory instincts.
These small-sized birds play a significant role in maintaining the ecological balance by contributing to the control of harmful insect populations such as the Japanese beetle.
13) Tufted Titmouse
The Tufted Titmouse is a small songbird known for its fluffy gray plumage and distinctive crest on the head. It is an active bird that can often be spotted hopping from branch to branch in search of insects, seeds, and berries.
With its strong beak, this bird can break open nuts and acorns to consume their nutritious contents.
Nuts are a significant part of the Tufted Titmouse’s diet, making it a valuable ally for controlling pests like Japanese beetles. This little bird has been observed consuming beetle larvae as well as adult beetles when they come across them while foraging in trees or on the ground.
Attracting these birds to your yard can offer natural control over Japanese beetle populations without the need for harmful chemicals or pesticides.
14) Chickadees
Chickadees are small birds that actively search for insects and beetles, including the Japanese beetle, to include in their diet. Their insect-eating habits make them valuable allies for controlling pest populations in gardens and agricultural fields.
With their quick movements and keen eyesight, chickadees can spot Japanese beetles from a distance.
These feisty little birds often visit backyards and garden areas where Japanese beetles tend to gather. By providing suitable nesting sites such as birdhouses or natural cavities, along with feeders containing sunflower seeds or mealworms, you can attract chickadees to your garden space.
15) Nuthatches
Nuthatches are small birds that have a unique ability to move head-first down tree trunks. They have a short, straight bill and are often seen feeding on insects, including the Japanese beetle.
These agile little birds can be found in woodlands and forested areas across North America. Nuthatches are known for their distinct call and can be attracted to backyard feeders with sunflower seeds or suet.
These birds play an important role in controlling pest populations by preying on insects like the Japanese beetle, making them valuable allies in your pest management strategy. Attracting nuthatches to your garden not only adds beauty and vitality but also contributes to maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
16) Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are voracious insect-eaters, making them valuable allies in controlling Japanese beetle populations. These birds use their strong bills to chisel into wood and uncover the larvae of various beetles, including the destructive Japanese beetle.
Woodpeckers also consume adult beetles when they find them, contributing significantly to keeping these pests in check.
Downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, and northern flickers are just a few examples of woodpecker species that actively seek out Japanese beetles as part of their diet. Their natural behavior of drilling into trees not only aids in finding food but also creates habitat for other wildlife.
17) Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Phoebes are small, charming birds that can be a helpful ally in controlling Japanese beetle populations. These insectivores are known for their distinctive “phoebe” call and habit of nesting near human habitation.
Eastern Phoebes primarily feed on insects, making them natural predators to pests such as the Japanese beetle. Their diet also includes flies, bees, wasps, ants, moths, butterflies, and beetles – all of which contribute to managing pest populations naturally.
The Eastern Phoebe is an excellent addition to any bird-friendly garden or landscape due to its bug-eating habits. By attracting these birds through suitable habitats and providing sources of water and habitat enhancements like shrubs and trees where they can build their nests, you can encourage Eastern Phoebes to help control Japanese beetles without resorting to harmful chemical pesticides.
18) Barn Swallow
The Barn Swallow is a slender, elegant bird with a deep blue back and rusty throat. They are excellent fliers recognizable by their distinctive tail streamers, which can be seen when they swoop and dive to catch insects in mid-air.
These agile birds migrate long distances annually from North America to Central and South America.
Barn Swallows are beneficial for pest control as they devour large quantities of flying insects, including Japanese beetles. Their diet consists mainly of small flies, bees, wasps, ants, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, and other flying insects found on farmland or open areas close to water sources.
By attracting these graceful birds to your yard or farm through the use of nest boxes or mud puddles for constructing nests, you can naturally reduce the population of Japanese beetles and other harmful pests.
How to Attract Birds That Eat Japanese Beetles?
To attract birds that eat Japanese beetles, follow these strategies:
- Plant native trees and shrubs that produce fruits or berries, such as elderberry, serviceberry, and dogwood, to provide a natural food source for insect-eating birds.
- Install bird feeders with suet cakes or mealworms to attract insect-eating birds like woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees to your yard.
- Create a bird-friendly environment by incorporating water sources such as birdbaths or small ponds, which can attract a variety of insect-eating birds.
- Avoid using chemical pesticides in your garden to encourage a healthy population of insects that are preyed upon by birds.
- Provide nesting boxes for cavity-nesting birds like bluebirds and chickadees to help increase the population of beneficial insect-eating birds in your area.
- Incorporate diverse plantings that offer cover and shelter for insect – eating birds while also attracting the insects they feed on.
- Utilize bird-friendly landscaping techniques such as leaving leaf litter and fallen branches to create habitats for ground-feeding insectivorous birds like robins and thrashers.
FAQs
How do birds catch and eat Japanese beetles?
Birds will spot the beetles on plants and pluck them off to eat them whole. Some birds may catch them in midair. The birds’ strong beaks allow them to easily crush the hard beetle shells.
What time of day are birds most likely to prey on beetles?
Birds are most likely to prey on Japanese beetles during the early morning and evening hours when the beetles are most active and easy to spot.
How many beetles can a bird eat per day?
The amount varies by bird species, but some birds like blue jays may eat over 100 beetles per day at peak beetle season.
What plants do Japanese beetles commonly infest?
Japanese beetles feed on over 300 types of plants, including roses, grapes, hops, crape myrtles, lindens, and birches.