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SUV covered in bees keeps Welsh town abuzz for hours

By Ben Hooper
Bees cover the back of a Mitsubishi Outlander parked in Haverfordwest, Wales. Screenshot: Tom Moses/Facebook video
Bees cover the back of a Mitsubishi Outlander parked in Haverfordwest, Wales. Screenshot: Tom Moses/Facebook video

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HAVERFORDWEST, Wales, May 25 (UPI) -- A swarm of some 20,000 bees chased down a Wales resident's SUV and clung to the back of the vehicle for two days when their queen became trapped.

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Ranger Tom Moses spotted the bees clinging Sunday to the back of a silver Mitsubishi Outlander while it was parked Sunday in Haverfordwest.

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"I was a little worried, as the car was parked near some pubs, that someone would come and do something silly, so I wanted to make sure the bees were looked after," Moses told the Milford Mercury.

Moses, who posted video of the bee-covered SUV on Facebook, summoned Roger Burns of the Pembrokeshire Beekeepers' Association and the beekeeper arrived and started gathering the insects into a cardboard box.

"Unfortunately, Roger had an appointment so had to go, but left his beekeeping equipment with Andrew Beyba, a passer-by and former beekeeper who stopped to offer a hand," Moses said. "The bees started going into the box, and we were hoping the queen was in there, but then a sudden gust of wind blew the box off the car, and the lid came off and all the bees came swarming out again."

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Another beekeeper was summoned to the scene with a beekeeping suit and equipment for capturing the insects.

"I was there for about three hours," Moses said, "but I just wanted to make sure the bees were safe, because I know the importance of them."

The vehicle's owner, Carol Howarth, 65, said she had "never seen anything like" the swarm of bees. She said the bees had been following her Mitsubishi for two days before they were removed.

Burns said the queen bee may have been attracted by the scent of something sweet on vehicle.

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