Editing Bee-eater (section)

===Diet and feeding===
[[File:Blue-throated Bee-eater Courtship offering.jpg|thumb|left|A male [[blue-throated bee-eater]] presents his mate with a captured insect]]
The bee-eaters are almost exclusively aerial hunters of insect prey. Prey is caught either on the wing or more commonly from an exposed perch from which the bee-eater watches for prey. Smaller, rounder-winged bee-eaters typically hunt from branches and twigs closer to the ground, whereas the larger species hunt from tree tops or telephone wires. One unusual technique often used by carmine bee-eaters is to ride on the backs of [[bustard]]s.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

Prey can be spotted from a distance; European bee-eaters are able to spot a bee {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} away, and blue-cheeked bee-eaters have been observed flying out {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}} to catch large wasps. Prey is approached directly or from behind. Prey that lands on the ground or on plants is usually not pursued. Small prey may be eaten on the wing, but larger items are returned to the perch where they are beaten until dead and then broken up. Insects with poisonous stings are first smacked on the branch, then, with the bird's eyes closed, rubbed to discharge the [[venom]] sac and [[stinger]]. This behaviour is [[Intrinsic and extrinsic properties|innate]], as demonstrated by a juvenile bird in captivity, which performed the task when first presented with wild bees. This bird was stung on the first five tries, but by ten bees, it was as adept at handling bees as adult birds.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

Bee-eaters consume a wide range of insects; beyond a few distasteful butterflies they consume almost any insect from tiny ''[[Drosophila]]'' flies to large beetles and dragonflies. At some point bee-eaters have been recorded eating beetles, [[mayfly|mayflies]], [[stonefly|stoneflies]], [[cicada]]s, [[termite]]s, [[Orthoptera|crickets and grasshopper]]s, [[mantis]]es, true flies and moths. For many species, the dominant prey item are stinging members of the order Hymenoptera, namely [[wasp]]s and [[bee]]s. In a survey of 20 studies, the proportion of the diet made up by bees and wasps varied from 20% to 96%, with the average being 70%. Of these [[honeybee]]s can comprise a large part of the diet, as much as 89% of the overall intake. The preference for bees and wasps may have arisen because of the numerical abundance of these suitably sized insects.<ref name="hbwfamily" /> The [[Apis dorsata|giant honeybee]] is a particularly commonly eaten species. These bees attempt to congregate in a mass defence against the bee-eaters.<ref name="kastberger" /> In Israel, a European bee-eater was documented attempting to eat a small bat that it had caught, which probably could not fit down its throat.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sarchet |first=Penny |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn27818-ambitious-bee-eater-attempts-to-swallow-a-bat-whole/ |title=Ambitious bee-eater attempts to swallow a bat whole |magazine=New Scientist |date=2015-07-01 |access-date=2017-06-29}}</ref>

Like kingfishers, bee-eaters regurgitate [[Pellet (ornithology)|pellets]] of undigested material, typically {{convert|2|cm|in|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} long black oblongs.<ref name="hbwfamily" />

==== Predation of honey bees ====
[[File:Colonie de prigorii (Merops apiaster) vandalizată de apicultori.jpg|thumb|right|Bee-eater colony destroyed by bee-keepers. The entrances into the bee eater's nests were deliberately blocked with stones]]

If an [[apiary]] is set up close to a bee-eater colony, a larger number of honey bees are eaten because they are more abundant. However, studies show the bee-eaters do not intentionally fly into the apiary, rather they feed on the insects caught on pastures and meadows within a radius of {{convert|12|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the colony, this maximum distance being reached only when there is a shortage of food. Observations show that the birds actually enter the apiary only in cold and rainy periods, when the bees do not leave the hive and other insect prey are harder for the bee-eaters to detect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sor.ro/ro/noutati/Prigonirea-prigoriei-Mituri-si-adevaruri-despre-albine-si-albinarel.html|title=Prigonirea prigoriei. [Myths and truths about honey bees and bee eaters ]|publisher=Romanian Ornithological Society|language=ro|access-date=2018-06-27|archive-date=2018-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144415/https://sor.ro/ro/noutati/Prigonirea-prigoriei-Mituri-si-adevaruri-despre-albine-si-albinarel.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Many [[bee-keeper]]s believe that the bee-eaters are the main obstacle causing worker bees not to forage, and instead stay inside the hives for much of the day between May and the end of August. However, a study carried out in a [[eucalyptus]] forest in the Alaluas region in the [[Murqub District]] in Libya, {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]], showed that the bee-eaters were not the main obstacle to bee foraging; in some cases, the foraging rate was higher in the presence of the birds than in their absence. The average bird meal consisted of 90.8% honey bees and 9.2% beetles.<ref>{{cite web|last=Alfallah|first=H.M|url=http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/da/ead/ead.nsf/0/6722A01C440AA5EDC2257B1D003949BC/$file/Bee-eaters-Bee-Keepers.pdf|title=The impact of the Bee-eater ''Merops apiaster'' on the behavior of honey bee ''Apis mellifera'' L. during foraging|publisher=Mansoura Journal of Plant Protection and Pathology, 1(12): 1023–1030|access-date=2018-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144323/http://www.moa.gov.cy/moa/da/ead/ead.nsf/0/6722A01C440AA5EDC2257B1D003949BC/$file/Bee-eaters-Bee-Keepers.pdf|archive-date=2018-06-27|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Predation is more likely when the bees are queening or during the peak of migration, from late March till mid-April, and in mid-September. Hives close to or under trees or overhead cables are at increased risk as the birds pounce on flying insects from these perches.<ref name=toM >{{cite news | last = Carabott| first = Sarah| title =Bee-eater is not to blame for decline in honey bees | newspaper = Times of Malta| location = Valletta| date = 2015-10-26| url = https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20151026/local/bee-eater-is-not-to-blame-for-decline-in-honey-bees.589691| access-date = 2018-06-27}}</ref>