Unwanted guests at the feeder

I recently took this photo of activity at a hummingbird feeder. A rain shower had passed a half hour earlier, and insects were out looking for an easy, sweet meal.

In this photo, you can find four insects sipping the sweet sugar-water.

The largest insect is a non-native European hornet.

It is a beautifully- colored, stinging insect decorated with colors of orange, brown, black and yellow.

To the left is a native bald-faced paper wasp, often called an American hornet. It is basically black and white.

An ant clings to the bottom of the feeder, and a gnat with a red head sits near the imitation red flower.

I observed the hornets sometimes would fly at a hummingbird that came to drink.