My girl tried to eat a wild bumble bee, she did not, bee Qs

This summer I have been able to take my dragon outside for some real sunlight, I received guidance from her vet before doing so. I watch her 100% of the time staying close because there are box elder bugs and fireflies in the area.

The thing I did not expect was for my dragon to be sitting in front of a flower, a bumblebee lands on the flower, then she snaps at the bee. She snapped at a bee! A huge bumblebee! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombus_griseocollis Minnesota, USA location. It all happened so fast. Bee lands on flower and instantaneously she snapped at it, took less than a second for all that to happen. I know it was probably just reaction, instinct to snap at bug suddenly in an opportune position for the eating. It was less than an inch from her face. I was sitting next to her, she in raised garden bed I’m right there on garden ledge.

All I can think is if she had somehow gotten her mouth on it I would have had to pry her mouth open and grab the bee out. Her vet is a close drive, less than 10 minutes. I don’t know what I would do if she got stung by a bee.

I don’t want her to eat any insect from outside. She hasn’t shown interest in ants crawling around or other flying bugs. Of all things a bumble bee is the one that caught her interest.

Of course I decided to read online if bumble bees or bees are toxic. I read conflicting information. Some people stating dragon can eat a bee and not be stung. Dragons eat bees in the wild so it is fine. The only concern is pesticide or parasites, not the stinger or bee itself, etc. Part of the reason I love my house is all the nature around it. The risk of bees will always be there. I can ask my vet what I should do, but I wanted to ask here as well how concerned I would be to be because of bumble bees.

Of course it's best to try to avoid that situation, but I've seen my guy chomp down on at least two yellowjackets in the past. It happens incredibly quickly and it didn't seem to cause any problem in either case. You don't want them to get stung, but if it does happen, I don't think toxicity should be a major concern.

Okay Cooper, that sounds like what I was reading. I'm very glad she didn't get the bumble bee. She is not a good Hunter, I still hand feed her bugs because she almost never will eat bugs I leave in a dish. I'm glad that she only has the speed to catch leafy greens

Those bumblebees are much bigger than honeybees, wasps, or yellow jackets.
It would be concerning if a bee that big stung the dragon. That's a lot of toxin compared to other bees.

I don't know if I would be concerned about letting her outside, but I would be concerned if she tried to eat it. They can eat bees and such without issue, as long as they don't get stung. But like mentioned, bumblebees are huge, and not as easy to "eat" as a honeybee.

It would be interesting to see what your vet says. If you ask, make sure you share!

Either way, I'm glad she didn't nab it. That way none of us have to worry whether or not she got stung

-Brandon

Okay I got a reply from my vet!

One, he told me no one has ever asked him about possible bee stings or eating a bee by a dragon nor has he ever seen or heard of a dragon eating or being stung by any type of bee in his experience.

Second, he hypothesized that a bearded dragon would not have a strong reaction if any reaction at all compared to a small mammal the same size. He said if she ate a bee or was stung by a bee, even something as big as a bumblebee, to watch for change in behavior or physical changes. Such as a lump from being stung or a lump on abdomen if eaten as that could be a sign of reaction. Overall he thinks a bearded dragon won't have any reaction

Through the years several of my rascals scarfed up a bee + a yellow jackets with absolutely no effects. The real shocker was when a baby, 7-8" snagged one that hovered down in to the kiddie pool. I thought for sure there would writhing , gasping + then death throes but.....nothing. Smacked his lips + looked for more. It seems that these guys have no problem with stinging insects from my experience + others that I've read. Not to say that there's a possibility that one could be harmed but I've yet to read of one.

AHBD":1askdo5k said:

Through the years several of my rascals scarfed up a bee + a yellow jackets with absolutely no effects. The real shocker was when a baby, 7-8" snagged one that hovered down in to the kiddie pool. I thought for sure there would writhing , gasping + then death throes but.....nothing. Smacked his lips + looked for more. It seems that these guys have no problem with stinging insects from my experience + others that I've read. Not to say that there's a possibility that one could be harmed but I've yet to read of one.

Click to expand...

Interesting, good to know that
I still wonder about a bumblebee just because of its size but it's good to know more people have had ok experiences with no I'll effects from potential stings.

-Brandon

Bumblebees are relatively docile, I've grown up with them and know how they act well. Part of my worry was that the size of the bee seemed like a female. Only the females have stingers. Bumblebees can sting many times, that was also my worry if she ate one and it was female it can repeatedly sting.

Yesterday I am pretty sure she ate a small fly while eating a flower. Dang bugs. I'll continue to be paranoid and worried anyways