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Swarm of 20,000 bees chase car for two days to rescue queen trapped inside

'The queen was trapped in my car and the swarm was following...'

Swarm of 20,000 bees chase car for two days to rescue queen trapped inside
A swarm of bees on a car's back. (Cover Image Source: Facebook | Tom Moses)

Tom Moses was driving through the town when he saw something he had never seen before. A swarm of bees had clung onto the back of a Mitsubishi Outlander, and Moses couldn't stop himself from investigating more. In a Facebook post, the man shared the unbelievable reason behind the bees chasing Carol Howarth, the owner of the car.

A swarm of bees is flying. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by 	Paul Starosta)
A swarm of bees is flying. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Paul Starosta)

Howarth, (then) 68, had gone to a nature reserve, and unknowingly, had picked up a tiny passenger from there in her car. Later, when she had stopped in Haverfordwest, West Wales, she saw 20,000 bees descend on her vehicle, CNN reported. When Moss saw the swarm of bees, the thought of someone harming them scared him to death. "I worried that some idiot would come pour boiling water over them or do something stupid," he said. Moss, who worked as a Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ranger, immediately called Pembrokeshire Beekeepers Association for help. Roger, the first beekeeper, showed up with a bee box and easily collected a few bees in it. He had some other plans, so once Roger left, Andrew, another beekeeper, stepped right in to sweep the rest of the bees into the box.



 

Andrew, a bit out of practice, had a tough time getting the bees under control. Moss recalled, "At first, bees nicely started going into the box. Stung. Then they started to come out again." Andrew noticed there was no queen bee on the car but didn't think much about it. They contacted another beekeeper, Jeremy, but he wasn't available himself and said he would send help. While Andrew and Moss were waiting for Jeremy's replacement, a drunk bloke from the pub nearby tried to brush bees off the car with his bare hand but got stung many times.

"Beekeeper #4 (man with no name) turned up with a full suit and Smokey thing and stung again, twice," Moss recalled, describing how, finally, with the new beekeeper, the situation got under control. Howarth thought she had got the bees out of her life, but guess what? They followed her home, only to cover her car like the last time. According to The Telegraph, Howarth called the beekeepers again, who removed the swarm for good by 6 pm, and that's how she finally got rid of the bees chasing her for two days.

"One theory was that the queen was trapped in my car and the swarm was following, but they couldn't find the queen anywhere, so I've no idea if that was right. Apparently, bees can swarm at this time of the year, and it is a very strong instinct for them to follow the queen. I still don't really understand why, because they couldn't see the queen anywhere. Perhaps they just like the heat of my car," Howarth said. Meanwhile, reacting to Tom's Facebook post, Carwyn Phillips commented, "Oh my God! Beeeeerilliant result there, Mr. Moses! It could have been a bad result for those bees if you hadn't phoned."

Similarly, Chris Welton said, "Nice one, Tom — Beekeepers are usually very keen to help if you have a swarm of bees. A free colony of bees is a great bonus to a beekeeper, and it’s always exciting to collect them. Another user who goes by David F. Perry wondered, "Well done, Tom and all those involved. Hope they bring you some honey. There was a time when police stations held details of who to call in such circumstances — stuck birds, bee swarms, frightened hedgehogs. Is this still the case? I hope it's still happening."

You can follow Tom Moses on Facebook for lifestyle content.

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