Most animals instinctively keep their distance from bees and wasps. The buzzing alone is enough to send them running.
But this bird didn’t get the memo.
Surrounded by angry wasps on all sides, she stands perfectly calm — unfazed, unbothered, and almost curious. While any other animal would be in full retreat, she’s right where she wants to be.
That’s because she’s a honey buzzard, and wasps aren’t a threat to her — they’re dinner.
Stunning photos captured by wildlife photographer Chen Chengguang show the honey buzzard calmly navigating a cloud of wasps in her natural habitat, scanning the chaos for her next meal. Unlike most birds, honey buzzards don’t target adult insects. Instead, they go after what’s hidden inside the nest: the larvae of bees and wasps.
To get to them, the birds must plunge headfirst into situations that look downright dangerous.
Fortunately, honey buzzards are perfectly designed for the job. They have thick, scale-like feathers on parts of their face and body that help protect them from painful stings. Their specialized anatomy allows them to withstand encounters that would overwhelm nearly any other predator.
So while the scene looks like a high-risk stunt to human onlookers, to the honey buzzard it’s simply routine.
For her, a swirling swarm of wasps isn’t something to fear — it’s just another workday meal.
