Sunflowers are cultivated for their beauty and nutritious seeds. Their various parts—from tender seedlings and broad leaves to mature seeds—also serve as a significant food source for diverse wildlife. This means many creatures view sunflowers as a readily available meal.
Larger Mammalian Herbivores
Larger mammals consume various parts of sunflower plants. Deer browse on leaves, petals, and entire young plants. Rabbits nibble on tender shoots and can consume flower heads. Groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, feed on sunflower foliage.
Raccoons, while omnivores, target sunflower seeds, tearing open mature heads to access the calorie-rich seeds. Their opportunistic feeding habits mean raccoons will exploit sunflowers if they are a readily available food source.
Rodent Seed Eaters
Rodents are significant consumers of sunflower seeds, often causing considerable damage. Squirrels frequently devour entire flower heads or strip them of their contents, often hoarding seeds for later consumption. Chipmunks are avid seed collectors, raiding sunflower patches and stuffing their cheek pouches with seeds to store in their burrows.
Mice and rats also find sunflower seeds highly appealing due to their rich fat and carbohydrate content. Rats are particularly drawn to them, and their presence can quickly lead to infestations. These rodents consume seeds and can cause damage by chewing through plant stems or burrowing near roots.
Avian Seed Eaters
As sunflower plants mature, their seed-laden heads become a prime target for numerous bird species. Finches, including American goldfinches and house finches, are particularly fond of sunflower seeds, often perching directly on the flower heads to extract them. Sparrows are also common visitors, consuming sunflower seeds from the plant or spilled on the ground.
Larger birds, such as jays and blackbirds, also feast on sunflower seeds. Blue jays crack open seeds with their robust bills or carry multiple seeds to cache elsewhere. Doves, especially mourning doves, consume sunflower seeds, often preferring shelled varieties or swallowing whole seeds, which are then processed in their powerful gizzards. The sight of a flock of birds extracting seeds from a field of sunflowers is a common spectacle for growers.
Insect and Other Garden Pests
Beyond mammals and birds, a range of insect pests can inflict significant damage on sunflowers at various growth stages. The sunflower moth is a major pest; its larvae initially feed on pollen and florets, then tunnel into the developing seeds and the head tissue, destroying multiple seeds per larva. Infested sunflower heads often show characteristic webbing and are predisposed to fungal diseases like Rhizopus head rot.
Grasshoppers are generalist feeders that can cause extensive defoliation by chewing holes in leaves and consuming petals and flower heads. Heavy infestations can severely damage or ruin entire sunflower plants. The sunflower beetle specifically targets sunflowers, with adults defoliating seedlings and larvae chewing distinct holes in mature leaves. Other insect pests, such as stem weevils and seed weevils, can also impact sunflowers by burrowing into stalks, causing lodging, or feeding directly on seeds, leading to yield loss.