What Eats Safflowers?

Safflower is a common ingredient in bird seed mixtures.

Safflower is a common ingredient in bird seed mixtures.

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Safflowers (Carthamus tinctorius) are hardy to U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 3 through 9. These flowering plants are grown for decorative and commercial purposes. Safflowers and their seeds are food to a great number of living things. From insects, which eat their petals and their leaves, to animals and people, eating their seeds, safflowers are a snack for creatures great and small.


Safflowers are vulnerable to a number of pests. Left uncontrolled, insects such as grasshoppers, aphids, wire worms, cut worms and sunflower moths will feed on the parts of the safflowers, often damaging and sometimes destroying. Insecticides can control these pests, but they also kill bees, which are beneficial to safflowers during flowering. As an alternative to insecticide, beneficial insects like lady beetles and lacewings may be released into safflower fields.


The thick shells of safflower seeds limit the number of birds that are attracted to them. However, these seeds are popular among cardinals. Other birds that eat safflower seeds include doves, sparrows, grosbeaks and chickadees. Different birdseed mixtures have different proportions of safflower seeds. If safflower seeds commonly end up on the ground beneath your bird feeder, consider switching to a different birdseed mixture.

Other Animals

Not all birds enjoy eating safflower seeds, and this could result in an accumulation of safflower seeds on the ground beneath your bird feeder. Opossums, rodents, squirrels and raccoons will be attracted to these seeds on your property.


The biggest consumers of safflowers are humans. Humans use safflower oil in cooking, eat the seeds in trail mixes, and even use the flowers as a stand-in for the prohibitively expensive spice saffron. Safflowers have been used in human civilizations for 4,000 years, dating back to the Egyptians. The uses of safflowers extend even beyond culinary and nutritional. Safflower blossoms have medicinal uses and may be used to produce yellow and orange dyes, with pigments extracted from the petals.

About the Author

Leslie Rose


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