Predators of Venomous Animals
Predators of Venomous Animals
Many animal species have changed over time so that they can eat poisonous animals and plants without harm. in the same way, some animals have evolved to hunt and eat venomous animals.
Bumblebees are venomous and can sting repeatedly, like wasps. Yet skunks, foxes, badgers, and other mammals will raid bumblebee nests, risking stings as they dig up and eat bee larvae and stored food. Bears raid the nests of honeybees as well as bumblebees. Bees visiting flowers may be snared by crab spiders lying in wait for them among the blossoms. Some kinds of wasps specialize in hunting bees to feed to their young.
A variety of birds also feed on bees, taking care to remove the sting or venom first. Bee-eaters, found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, catch bees in midair with their long beaks. A bee-eater that catches a bee perches in a tree, where it rubs and bashes its prey against a branch until the venom and sting are squeezed out. Then the bee-eater safely eats its meal.
South American birds called motmots use this method, too. in North America, birds called northern shrikes can eat bees and wasps. A shrike rubs the insect on a branch or jams it onto a thorn and pulls out the sting with its beak.
Long-billed birds of Africa and Asia called hornbills eat venomous snakes, centipedes, and scorpions. A hornbill will grasp the prey with the tip of its beak and then squeeze the prey from one end to the other. By the time the birds are through, all the venom glands have been squashed and the stingers destroyed.
Baboons and other African monkeys eat scorpions. They remove the scorpion’s tail, then eat the rest of the body. African mammals called meerkats teach their pups how to bite off scorpions’ stingers.
Even venomous snakes get eaten. The long-legged secretary bird of Africa will kick a snake and stomp on it to kill it. Mongooses, which are in the same family as meerkats, kill and eat deadly cobras. With strong jaws, a mongoose quickly grabs a snake behind its head. Mongooses also dine on other venomous animals, such as spiders, scorpions, and centipedes.
Mongooses are partly resistant to the venom of snakes. Opossums, European hedgehogs, and some rodents also are resistant to the venom of certain snakes. King snakes, which are not venomous, are immune to other snakes’ venom. They are known to eat rattlesnakes, copperheads, and other venomous snakes. Frogs tolerate the stings of the ants that they eat, as do the horned lizards of North American deserts.
Many animal species have changed over time so that they can eat poisonous animals and plants without harm. in the same way, some animals have evolved to hunt and eat venomous animals.
Bumblebees are venomous and can sting repeatedly, like wasps. Yet skunks, foxes, badgers, and other mammals will raid bumblebee nests, risking stings as they dig up and eat bee larvae and stored food. Bears raid the nests of honeybees as well as bumblebees. Bees visiting flowers may be snared by crab spiders lying in wait for them among the blossoms. Some kinds of wasps specialize in hunting bees to feed to their young.
A variety of birds also feed on bees, taking care to remove the sting or venom first. Bee-eaters, found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, catch bees in midair with their long beaks. A bee-eater that catches a bee perches in a tree, where it rubs and bashes its prey against a branch until the venom and sting are squeezed out. Then the bee-eater safely eats its meal.
South American birds called motmots use this method, too. in North America, birds called northern shrikes can eat bees and wasps. A shrike rubs the insect on a branch or jams it onto a thorn and pulls out the sting with its beak.
Long-billed birds of Africa and Asia called hornbills eat venomous snakes, centipedes, and scorpions. A hornbill will grasp the prey with the tip of its beak and then squeeze the prey from one end to the other. By the time the birds are through, all the venom glands have been squashed and the stingers destroyed.
Baboons and other African monkeys eat scorpions. They remove the scorpion’s tail, then eat the rest of the body. African mammals called meerkats teach their pups how to bite off scorpions’ stingers.
Even venomous snakes get eaten. The long-legged secretary bird of Africa will kick a snake and stomp on it to kill it. Mongooses, which are in the same family as meerkats, kill and eat deadly cobras. With strong jaws, a mongoose quickly grabs a snake behind its head. Mongooses also dine on other venomous animals, such as spiders, scorpions, and centipedes.
Mongooses are partly resistant to the venom of snakes. Opossums, European hedgehogs, and some rodents also are resistant to the venom of certain snakes. King snakes, which are not venomous, are immune to other snakes’ venom. They are known to eat rattlesnakes, copperheads, and other venomous snakes. Frogs tolerate the stings of the ants that they eat, as do the horned lizards of North American deserts.
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