A Taiwan doctor finds four sweaty bees living inside a woman's eye

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The doctors found a Taiwanese woman who had in her eye four small sweat bees, the first such incident on the island.

The 28-year-old woman, identified only by Ms. He, was tearing weeds out when the insects flew into her eyes.

Dr. Hong Chi Ting, of Fooyin University Hospital, told the BBC that he was "shocked" by pulling the insects 4 mm by the legs.

Ms. He has just been released and should recover completely.

Sweat bees, also known as Halictidae, are attracted to sweat and sometimes arise on people to soak up perspiration. They also drink tears for their high protein content, according to a Kansas Entomological Society study.

& # 39; They were all alive & # 39;

Mrs. It was weeding around the graves of her relatives when the insects flew into her left eye.

She visited the tomb as part of the annual Chinese Qing Ming Tomb Sweep Festival, traditionally observed during the ornamentation of loved ones' graves.

When a gust of wind came through her eyes, she supposed the dust had entered the ground, she told reporters.

But a few hours later, her eyes were still swollen and painful, which led her to seek medical help at the southern Taiwan hospital.

"She could not close her eyes completely.I looked at a black microscope in the slot and saw something black that looked like an insect leg," she said. entrusted to the BBC Dr. Hong, professor of ophthalmology at the hospital.

"I grabbed the leg and pulled out one very slowly, then saw another, another, and another, they were still intact and all alive."

Images of the bees were broadcast on Taiwan television.

Dr. Hong added that the bees could have been blown into his eye by a gust of wind and found themselves stuck inside.

"These bees do not usually attack people, but like to drink sweat, hence their name," he said.

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Dr. Hong added that Ms. He was "lucky" not to rub her eyes while the bees were inside.

"She was wearing contact lenses, so she did not dare to rub her eyes in case she broke it, and if she did, she could have brought the bees to produce venom … she could have gone blind. "

But what happened to the bees?

"They are still alive, they have been sent as specimens to another organization and will be studied," said Dr. Hong. "This is the first time in Taiwan that we see something like this."