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Bee-eater tossing a bumble bee
Merops apiaster and Bombus sp.
HUNGARY/PUSZTASZER PROTECTED LANDSCAPE, CSONGRÁD

The bee-eater is a specialist in bumble bees, wasps, bees and other larger flying insects. One of Europe’s most colourful and exotic-looking birds, the bee-eater lives in colonies in sand banks. That is why this species has benefited from human construction and roadbuilding, where gravel pits and excavation sites provide many more artificial sandbanks than untouched nature. On the other hand, widespread pesticide use in farming reduces the numbers of large insects that the bee-eater needs to survive. The bee-eater is a Mediterranean species of dry and open country, spreading northwards with climate change. Sometimes they are persecuted by bee-keepers, who are not so enthusiastic about their choice of diet.

Copyright
Markus Varesvuo / Wild Wonders of Europe, +46 8-583 518 31, info@wild-wonders.com, www.wild-wonders.com
Image Size
5906x4638 / 8.1MB
Keywords
Contained in galleries
Birds, Hungary
Bee-eater tossing a bumble bee<br /> Merops apiaster and Bombus sp.<br /> HUNGARY/PUSZTASZER PROTECTED LANDSCAPE, CSONGRÁD<br /> <br /> The bee-eater is a specialist in bumble bees, wasps, bees and other larger flying insects. One of Europe’s most colourful and exotic-looking birds, the bee-eater lives in colonies in sand banks. That is why this species has benefited from human construction and roadbuilding, where gravel pits and excavation sites provide many more artificial sandbanks than untouched nature. On the other hand, widespread pesticide use in farming reduces the numbers of large insects that the bee-eater needs to survive. The bee-eater is a Mediterranean species of dry and open country, spreading northwards with climate change. Sometimes they are persecuted by bee-keepers, who are not so enthusiastic about their choice of diet.