Bees discovered living in a woman's eye: 'They were still intact and all alive'

A woman was shocked to discover that a group of bees were living inside her eye — and feeding off of her tears.

The 28-year-old, known only as Ms. He, thought dirt had been blown into her eye while she was pulling out weeds around the graves of her relatives.

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However, several hours later the 28-year-old visited a hospital in southern Taiwan when her eyes started to swell and cause her pain.

Dr. Hong Chi Ting, who works at the Fooyin University Hospital, said he was “shocked” when he saw four bees living in He’s eye upon further examination.

“She couldn’t completely close her eyes,” he told the BBC. “I looked into the gap with a microscope and saw something black that looked like an insect leg.

“I grabbed the leg and very slowly took one out, then I saw another one, and another and another. They were still intact and all alive.”

The insects are known as sweat bees because they land on people so they can drink beads of perspiration.

The doctor believes that the fact the woman was wearing contact lenses saved her from potentially going blind.

“She was wearing contact lenses so she didn’t dare to rub her eyes in case she broke the lens,” he explained. “If she did she could have induced the bees to produce venom … she could have gone blind.”

The bees are still alive and have been sent to another organization so they can be studied.

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