Thousands of bees removed from NYC block

NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) -- Police in New York said a swarm of 8,000 to 10,000 bees was relocated from a residential neighborhood to a Connecticut farm.

Officer Anthony Planakis, who has served as the resident beekeeper for the New York Police Department for 30 years, described the residents of the hive on the Upper East Side as "one of the biggest swarms I have ever seen," the New York Post reported Monday.

Police said the bees moved into a giant hive in the neighborhood at some point in the past month and wasn't spotted until the queen took her subjects for an outing at 4 p.m. Sunday.

"It was a 3-foot column of bees," resident Doug Becker, 40, said.

Planakis said the bees were captured and were en route Sunday "to a farm in Connecticut to pollinate."