Like other species in the genus, bee-eaters predominantly eat insects, especially bees, wasps and ants, which are caught in the air by sorties from an open perch. Before swallowing prey, a bee-eater removes stings and breaks the exoskeleton of the prey by repeatedly thrashing it on the perch.

Do green bee eaters eat bees?

80% of the green bee-eater's diet is honeybees. The rest is other bee species, wasps, ants, flies, butterflies, moths, dragonflies, beetles, and other flying insects.

How do bee-eaters not get stung?

In order to eat them without getting stung, they've adapted a special way of devouring their prey: Once they've caught a wasp or bee in their beaks, they return to a perch and whack the bug's head against the perch to stun it.