Squirrels maintain a highly varied and opportunistic diet, allowing them to thrive in diverse environments ranging from dense forests to busy city parks. Their natural foraging behavior focuses on items like nuts, seeds, fungi, and buds, but their palate is wide, often leading them to consume non-traditional food sources. This flexibility, especially in urban settings, addresses the question of whether a squirrel would eat honey if given the chance.
Squirrel Interest in Honey
Squirrels will readily consume honey if they encounter it, primarily because of its high sugar content. Like many mammals, squirrels possess a strong biological drive to seek out energy-dense foods, and honey provides a rapid influx of calories. This attraction is especially pronounced in urban populations, which have a wider dietary range and a significantly higher sugar intake compared to their forest counterparts.
Honey is not a staple in the wild squirrel’s diet, but its composition of simple sugars, mainly fructose and glucose, makes it an appealing caloric reward. This preference for sweet, high-energy sources means that any accessible honey becomes an exploited resource. Research shows that urban squirrels consume a greater amount of non-natural food items, demonstrating a clear willingness to exploit novel sources of sugar.
How Squirrels Access Honey
A squirrel’s access to honey is almost always a matter of opportunistic scavenging, particularly in human-dominated landscapes. In the wild, squirrels are not known to successfully raid active, healthy beehives, which are vigorously defended by the colony. The hive’s structure and the risk of stings typically deter small animals from attempting a direct assault.
However, a squirrel may encounter honey by exploiting a weakened, abandoned, or already-damaged wild hive. They may also consume pieces of honeycomb or sticky residue that have fallen to the ground or been discarded by a larger predator. In urban and suburban areas, the pathways to honey are far less hazardous and more common.
This opportunistic feeding includes consuming spilled picnic food, discarded sweets, or the sugary residue from human waste. An urban squirrel’s wider dietary range means they are more likely to investigate and consume any accessible food waste. They may also find honey in backyard feeders intended for other wildlife, such as hummingbird nectar or suet mixes.
Honey’s Place in a Squirrel’s Diet
Despite its high caloric value, honey offers little nutritional benefit essential for a squirrel’s long-term health. Honey is composed of roughly 82% carbohydrates, almost entirely in the form of sugar, and contains only trace amounts of protein and fat. A healthy squirrel diet requires a balance of proteins, fats, and complex carbohydrates to support its high-energy lifestyle.
Consuming high amounts of simple sugars can lead to negative health outcomes. Studies have shown that urban squirrels, who consume more sugar, exhibit higher blood glucose levels, suggesting a potential for metabolic stress. An overreliance on honey can quickly displace the consumption of nutrient-dense foods, leading to a dietary imbalance.
Raw honey carries a risk of Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause botulism, a serious illness, particularly in very young animals. Due to this risk and the poor nutritional profile, wildlife experts advise against intentionally feeding honey to squirrels. Providing the animals with nuts, seeds, and fresh vegetables better supports their natural dietary requirements.