ok, I never said I was going to intentionally feed my bearded dragon any bugs from outside. I know the risks of parasites and pesticides. The question I asked was if love bugs are toxic and nobody actually answered that question.
I would like to know if they are toxic in case my bearded dragon were to accidently ingest one. I don't know about yours, but when I take mine outside for a walk he tastes everything, including the grass. When he sits on my leg, he will taste my leg with his tongue sometimes. He tried to eat my wedding ring the other day when I reached in his cage to feed him. So you can see with him being very curious how I am concerned about what he might eat while exploring outside. I take him out on a leash and harness so that he can get natural sunlight a few days a week.
It's love bug season right now here in central florida and they are everywhere, so if we go outside it is quit possible he could ingest one before I got a chance to shoe it away. From what I have read, very few insectivors eat them because apparently they don't taste well. They have a ph level of 6.5 but apparently when they are killed they can become very acidic, I don't know if this would hold true if one were ingested and if the stomach acid would neutralize it or be more acidic.
So I would like to know if anyone knows if they are toxic or not. Because if they are toxic, I will keep him indoors during lovebug season.
Thank you