Australia’s most dangerous venomous animal revealed

Australia has a reputation for being home to deadly creatures, but our most dangerous venomous creature may come as a surprise.

It’s not a snake, nor a spider — it’s the bee.

Bee stings result in the most hospitalisations and deaths of any venomous plant or animal in the country.

Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals more than a quarter of hospitalisations after contact with venomous animals and plants in 2017-18 related to bee stings.

Of the 3520 hospitalisations due to venomous animals in that year, 927 were from bee stings.

Head of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Professor Jo Douglass, said she’s not surprised by the hospital admission figures.

“We’ve known for some time that the most dangerous animal in Australia, in terms of death, was the bee,” she said.

There were 19 deaths from venomous animals and plants during 2017-18.

Twelve were from bee and wasp stings, while seven were due to snake bites.

Professor Douglass said only those who have been stung by a bee before are at risk of a potentially deadly allergic reaction.

“An allergic reaction requires an immune memory that you’ve been stung.

“If you’ve never been stung, you’re not at risk.

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