What Do Hummingbirds Eat Besides Nectar?

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Ask most people what hummingbirds eat and they'll say "nectar" — maybe sugar water if they've fed them before. They're not wrong. But they're only telling half the story.

The other half is insects. And for most people, that comes as a genuine surprise. —

Insects: The Other Half of the Hummingbird Diet

Nectar is fuel — pure sugar energy that powers a metabolism so fast it's almost incomprehensible. But sugar alone can't build feathers, maintain organs, or develop eggs. For that, hummingbirds need protein, and insects are their primary protein source.

Research estimates that insects and spiders make up somewhere between 30% and 60% of a hummingbird's diet by nutritional content — some studies put it closer to 80% of their protein intake. This is particularly true for females during nesting and for young birds developing in the nest.

A hummingbird that visits your feeder ten times a day is also hunting insects dozens of times a day. You just don't usually see it. —

What Insects Do They Eat?

Hummingbirds eat small, soft-bodied insects and spiders they can swallow whole or crush quickly. Their preferred prey includes:

Gnats and small flies: The most common prey item. Hummingbirds are highly skilled at catching these in mid-air, often making rapid back-and-forth darts that look like they're playing — they're hunting.

Fruit flies: Wherever ripe or fermenting fruit is present, fruit flies gather, and hummingbirds follow. They've been observed systematically working through orchards and compost areas for fruit flies.

Aphids: Hummingbirds "glean" — picking tiny insects directly from leaves and stems. Aphid colonies on your roses or milkweed are essentially fast-food restaurants for hummingbirds.

Small beetles and caterpillars: Any insect small enough to swallow and soft enough to digest is fair game, including tiny beetles, leaf miners, and small caterpillars.

Spiders: Hummingbirds actively hunt spiders both for food and for material. Yes — both. —

How They Hunt

Hummingbirds are surprisingly skilled hunters and use several techniques:

Hawking: The signature move. A hummingbird will hold a position in mid-air and dart forward to snatch an insect in flight, then return to hover and wait. You may see this from your window and think the bird is behaving erratically. It's hunting.

Gleaning: Methodically picking insects off leaves, bark, and flower petals. A hummingbird gleaning for aphids will work a plant slowly and deliberately — very different from the hovering posture we associate with nectar feeding.

Raiding spider webs: This one is particularly clever. Hummingbirds will fly directly into small spider webs to collect both the trapped insects and the spider. They eat both. —

Spider Silk: An Unexpected Resource

Here's something that will change how you look at spider webs in your garden.

Hummingbirds actively collect spider silk to use in nest construction. Their nests are held together with spider silk, which makes them elastic — the nest stretches as the chicks grow. A hummingbird building a nest will return to the same web multiple times, carefully stripping silk with her beak.

This is why hummingbirds seem to be visiting areas with no flowers — they may be scouting for spider webs, either for the silk or the trapped insects inside. —

Tree Sap: The Secret Third Food Source

This one surprises nearly everyone. Hummingbirds drink tree sap — specifically, they exploit the feeding holes drilled by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a woodpecker species.

Sapsuckers drill neat rows of holes in tree bark to access the sugar-rich sap beneath. Hummingbirds have learned to find these "sapsucker wells" and feed from the sap directly. In early spring, before most flowers have bloomed, this is sometimes a critical early-season food source for returning Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

If you have sapsuckers in your area, look for their characteristic horizontal rows of holes on trees — and don't be surprised if you see hummingbirds visiting the same tree. —

Pollen: Unintentional But Nutritious

Hummingbirds don't intentionally eat pollen, but they consume it incidentally while feeding at flowers. Some research suggests this accidental pollen consumption contributes small amounts of protein and micronutrients to their diet.

This is also, of course, how they pollinate plants. The relationship is mutually beneficial — the plant provides nectar, the hummingbird transfers pollen while feeding. —

Why Your Garden's Bug Life Matters

Here's the practical takeaway: a yard that's been heavily treated with pesticides is a terrible habitat for hummingbirds, regardless of how many feeders and flowers you put out.

Pesticides eliminate the insect base that hummingbirds depend on for protein. Nesting females who can't find enough insects will struggle to raise healthy chicks. Migrating birds who need to fuel up fast get shortchanged on protein if the insect population is depleted.

Native plants support dramatically more insect species than ornamental plants — up to 35 times more, according to research by entomologist Doug Tallamy. Native plantings mean more insects, which means healthier, well-nourished hummingbirds.

If you want to support hummingbirds fully — not just keep them alive but help them thrive — reducing pesticide use and planting native species is as important as keeping a clean feeder. —