RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
SPECIES: Melanerpes carolinus
STATUS: Least Concern
HABITAT: Woodlands, forest edges and orchards.
DIET: Insects, acorns, nuts, tree frogs, and occasionally sap from trees.
GENERAL: Red-Bellied Woodpeckers are a major predator of the ash borer, an invasive species of insect from northeast Asia that can cause significant damage to ash trees. The Woodpeckers have been known to remove up to 85% of ash borers in a single tree.
*Photo attributed to: Hollyshots
