Bees Swarm Bike in Midtown Manhattan

It was an odd sight Tuesday afternoon in midtown as hundreds of bees swarmed a bicycle locked to a traffic sign. 

The bees were spotted covering the front of the bicycle parked at West 56th Street and Seventh Avenue at about 2 p.m., according to several witnesses. The NYPD was called to the scene, and it looked as though beekeepers were taking care of the swarm.

The bizarre sight amused many New Yorkers, some gathering nearby to watch beekeepers remove the insects.

"Who knew there was an NYPD bee squad?" Katie Linker posted to Instagram.

It wasn't immediately clear where the bees came from, but former NYPD bee manager Tony Planakis told Gothamist they were probably from a hive nearby. 

"When a swarm takes place, it's going to take place within 100, 150 feet of the mother hive," Planakis told the website. "Bees are going to say, 'We're going to go to the closest location and sit there and regroup, we're going to wait for the queen to arrive, and once she does, scouts will go look for a new home.'"

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