Swarm of Thousands of Bees Relocated from Manhattan Tree to New York City Hotel

Try to imagine a few hundred bees. Now imagine a swarm of thousands. That's exactly what police officers and beekeepers had to deal with on Monday afternoon in the heart of New York City after a swarm took over part of a tree.

The bee swarm was first spotted in a tree branch over a car on 72^nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, according to CBS New York. That's when the police were called in in order to deal with the infestation. Police shut down pedestrian traffic as they dealt with the problem.

The bees were corralled into a cardboard box by Anthony Planakis, NYPD Detective and bee cop, who carefully removed the queen from the tree, according to American Live Wire. In all, it took just five minutes to complete the operation, and no one was stung, according to the New York Post.

"The most important thing is the queen," said a source, according to American Live Wire. "If you lose the queen you lose the hive."

Currently, it's unknown exactly where all of the bees came from. Now, though, the bees have been relocated to the rooftop of the tony Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Planakis also had to deal with a swarm of nearly 18,000 bees at a Greenpoint bus stop last week.

This is actually the third swarm of bees that has made headlines in recent weeks. This past Wednesday, police shut down Montrose Avenue after a swarm of 24,000 bees landed on the block around noon, according to CBS New York. In addition, a similar incident on May 7 occurred when a swarm of bees were spotted all over a block of 28^th Street in Astoria, Queens.