Talk about attracting attention.
A woman in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was in for a surprise Wednesday afternoon when she returned to her parked SUV and discovered it had become the hottest new destination in town for thousands of bees.
The swarm blanketed the driver’s-side door and mirror while the vehicle sat parked along Franklin Street across from the local post office. What started as a routine trip into a nearby building turned into an hours-long wait for a beekeeper.
According to WJAC, the bees remained on the SUV for several hours, attracting a crowd of curious onlookers and plenty of attention online.
Thousands Of Bees Suddenly Chose One SUV
The SUV’s owner told WJAC she had only been away from the vehicle briefly when the swarm arrived. By the time she returned, thousands of bees had clustered around the driver’s-side mirror and door, making it impossible to simply hop in and drive away.
Her theory is that the bees may have been connected to a hive removal happening nearby. According to the owner, workers were removing a hive from another building in the area, and the queen may have ended up on or inside her vehicle. Since worker bees instinctively follow their queen, that could explain why the entire swarm suddenly selected one parked SUV as its temporary home.
Whether the vehicle accidentally became bee royalty’s transportation of choice or was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, it quickly became the center of attention in downtown Johnstown.
A Beekeeper Eventually Solved The Problem
The swarm stayed put for several hours before a local beekeeper arrived to safely remove the insects.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the incident. While large swarms can look intimidating, experts generally note that swarming bees are often less aggressive than bees actively defending a hive.
Still, if you ever encounter a scene like this, it’s best to keep your distance and leave the removal to professionals. In this case, both the SUV owner and the bees ultimately got to go home without any harm done.