Bees' loyalty to their queen is extraordinary, as witnessed by residents in Haverfordwest, Great Britain.
Carol Howarth parked her car downtown for shopping, unaware of the spectacle about to unfold. While she was out, a swarm of 20,000 bees clustered on her vehicle.
Local resident Tom Moses spotted the massive bee cluster. Concerned for public safety, he contacted a team of professional beekeepers from the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers Association.
"It was spectacular," Moses recalled. "I was driving when I spotted this big brown spot on the car. A lot of people were amazed—cars slowed down, and folks snapped photos."
"I admit I was worried seeing a swarm in the city center. I feared someone might panic and get hurt, or harm the bees," he added.
The beekeepers arrived and began luring the bees into a box. However, when Howarth returned from shopping, the swarm took to the air and followed her car home.
"The next day, I realized some bees had followed me to the house," Howarth said. She promptly called the beekeepers again for assistance.
"We believe the queen was drawn to something sweet in the car and squeezed into a small space in the trunk," explained Roger Burns of the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers Association.
"The swarm of around 20,000 bees followed their queen and clustered on the vehicle."
Fortunately, the story had a happy ending: the queen and her colony were safely reunited without incident. Burns, with three decades of beekeeping experience, called it the most unusual case he'd encountered.
"Bees naturally follow their queen, but observing this over two days while trailing a car is truly remarkable," he noted.
Watch the impressive video footage below:
