Woodpeckers enjoy eating the larvae of wood-boring insects, including the emerald ash borer.
Other types of insects that woodpeckers like eating are caterpillars, beetles and their larvae, ants, etc.
If they find themselves in situations where there are no bugs to feed on, woodpeckers will feed on nuts or fruits. But they can also eat lizards, eggs of other birds, and other small rodents.
The main question is …
Do Woodpeckers Eat Termites?
Generally, insects are the main diets of woodpeckers most especially wood-boring insects such as termites, nuts, and grubs. So yes, woodpeckers do eat termites.
They’ll pound on trees to hunt for termites and create holes in the bark of trees by using their tongues to pull out the termites that live inside tree trunks.
However, other sources of food that woodpeckers feed on include berries, acorns, nuts, fruits, and tree sap. Besides the tree, woodpeckers can also land on the floor to search for insects, including termites and ants.
Other Reasons Why Woodpeckers Peck Trees
Contrary to what most people think, woodpeckers do not peck branches or tree trunks to tap sap – the liquid that is found inside trees.
While insect hunting is one of the reasons woodpeckers peck trees, they also peck to achieve other goals such as creating a storage space for the food that they got or creating a nesting area for laying eggs.
How Woodpeckers Determine the Right Tree to Target
Sweet gums, fruit trees, birch, spruce, and pine trees are the common types of trees that woodpeckers invade.
However, trees that have softer wood tend to be the favorite hunting space of woodpeckers. But any other tree that harbors back lice insects or wood borers will attract woodpeckers.
The wood on a dying or dead tree tends to be softer, making it a preferred nesting place for woodpeckers.
Unfortunately, scientists are not able to tell exactly how woodpeckers are able to determine the tree that has the most infested insects in it, including termites. So no one knows exactly what these birds look for in a tree before attacking.
Do Woodpeckers Offer Any Benefit?
While woodpeckers may get on the nerves of homeowners with trees around their houses, these annoying birds play a vital role in the ecosystem.
In the forest, for example, woodpeckers help fight insect infestations in trees. These birds have been known to eliminate up to 85% of the emerald ash borer larvae on infested ash trees.
Woodpeckers also identify issues in trees found in suburban and urban areas. If you see irregular holes made by woodpeckers all over the branches or the trunk of a tree, there is a likelihood that the tree is dying or it’s infested.
The interesting thing is that holes created by woodpeckers do not kill trees. But the holes do make trees more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
Conclusion
Do woodpeckers eat termites? Yes, woodpeckers do feed on different types of insects, including termites. Besides that, fruits, nuts, and other tiny living creatures are some of the things that woodpeckers hunt for on tree trunks and branches.
In addition to searching for food, woodpeckers also peck on trees to create a storage space for conserving their foods for scarce periods. Nesting is another common thing that woodpeckers do on trees.
While the activities of woodpeckers can seem annoying, these birds also contribute to the ecosystem in a positive way.
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