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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Massive Bee Swarm Brings 20,000 Insects to Brooklyn Tree

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A mass of honeybees swarmed a tree in Downtown Brooklyn on Friday afternoon.

At around 3 p.m., police were called to a swarm of honeybees that had nested on a tree on the southwest corner of Hoyt and Schermerhorn streets.

 

The NYPD's resident beekeeper Anthony Planakis, also known as “Tony Bees,” explained this swarm was one of the biggest he’d ever seen, estimating a count of 20,000 bees.

There were so many bees that Planankis said he couldn’t hold them in one pail, and had to call for backup.

Meanwhile, passersby said they were shocked that it had happened in their neighborhood. Despite some fears, many of them stopped to photograph the swarm.

“Wow, that’s all I can say,” said Tanya Burton, a resident of the neighborhood who was walking by with her daughter.