Authorities cordon off section of Times Square to respond to a massive group of bees that are swarming a hot dog stand. Watch live: https://t.co/qd86Ic9lOV pic.twitter.com/R0GJXBle4W — ABC News (@ABC) August 28, 2018 Reuters today posted a live stream, which you can replay above, of an odd occurrence in New York City: a massive swarm of bees collected atop the umbrella of a hot dog stand. Animal control showed up and humanely “vacuumed” the bees from the top of the stand. But just moments later a new collective began to form. That’s when the NYPD swarmed to block the area off. Here are some shorter clips from earlier. Bees swarm hot dog stand in New York’s Times Square https://t.co/x6TAWlFNKe — Reuters Top News (@Reuters) August 28, 2018 Bees: Bees are dying at an alarming rate Also bees: Let’s group in the thousands on top of a hot dog stand umbrella pic.twitter.com/MYvVi4e4X4 — Vegeta’s Pride (1080p HD) (@xacbranch) August 28, 2018 It created quite a lot of buzz on Twitter. Bees are swarming Times Square and I welcome our new insect overlords. pic.twitter.com/GJHFxYG6O7 — Mark Alvarado (@FineHijinx) August 28, 2018 “Times Square Intersection Cordoned Off After Bees Swarm Hot Dog Cart” pic.twitter.com/ZMjh8LBdfi — Katie Minard (@KatieMinard) August 28, 2018 A source close to the Times Square Bees tells me the swarm will be visiting Iowa and New Hampshire next week for a “listening tour” with voters. — Sylvan Lane (@SylvanLane) August 28, 2018 Does the bee vacuum have a reverse switch, because I have enemies I’d like to spray with bees — Barry Petchesky (@barry) August 28, 2018 The Times Square Hot Dog Stand Bees are enjoying their viral moment, but I hope they acknowledge the pioneers that paved the way for them: Pizza Rat, the llamas, that bat that Manu Ginobili swatted out of mid-air — Tom Kludt (@TomKludt) August 28, 2018 My instant response to the headline "Bees take over hot dog stand in Times Square" is "it's a free market." — Schrödinger's Trump is anti-concentration camps (@SchrodngrsTrump) August 28, 2018 let the bees have times square — sonia saraiya (@soniasaraiya) August 28, 2018 I like how the Bees are just completely chill with a massive hose from the sky sucking up thousands of their friends. https://t.co/D2wYkhr0Ro — Nathan McDermott (@natemcdermott) August 28, 2018 watching the NYPD beekeeper vacuum bees off a hot dog stand is oddly soothing https://t.co/Kp96Bxw7cJ pic.twitter.com/570WBdOBaQ — Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) August 28, 2018 NYPD needed a guy with full bee keeper gear to get to Time Square ASAP and he was there in 20 minutes. — Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) August 28, 2018 There were many, many more. Watch the clip above, courtesy of Reuters. [Featured image via screengrab] — Follow Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) on Twitter Have a tip we should know? [email protected]<doc-sep>Times Square, New York City's nexus of TGI Fridays, Sbarros, Arby's, Five Guys, Burger Kings, and one ill-fated Guy Fieri restaurant, never stops reinventing itself. Once a place where degenerates gathered to break the law, Times Square now offers a similar environment for a different kind of scourge: bees. On Tuesday, a swarm of bees descended upon a hot dog cart in the middle of Times Square. They coated the Sabrett umbrella in a bee-blanket, drawing attention from every fanny-pack wearing tourist and sweaty policeman. In fact, the NYPD had to summon its official beekeeper (what well-funded police department doesn't have a beekeeper?) to control the unruly swarm. Because bees don't usually flock en masse to the nearest processed meat vendor, NYC media pounced. A scrum of journalists hit the scene, and a bunch of livestreams were broadcast on social media. Quick, enjoy this bee movie:<doc-sep>A swarm of bees landed on a New York City hot dog stand on Tuesday, shutting down part of a street as police used a special vacuum to remove them. About 25,000 bees landed on the top of a hot dog stand in Times Square around 2 p.m., attracting onlookers from the street, the Associated Press reports. Thousands followed along online as a Reuters livestream showed the bees getting removed. An NYPD officer wearing a beekeeper’s net removed the bees with a vacuum cleaner. According to the NYPDBees Twitter account, the official account for the department’s beekeeper, the bees were from an overcrowded hive and landed on the hot dog stand as a way to get temporary residence. The beekeeper noted that the “very humid day” likely caused the bees to relocate. Work, errands and other tasks came to a pause at the busy Midtown Manhattan intersection as people were abuzz about the bees on Twitter. The NYPD said “no tourist was harmed and no bee was left behind” in a tweet. Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. Please enter a valid email address. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Please attempt to sign up again. Sign Up Now An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. Please try again later. Check the box if you do not wish to receive promotional offers via email from TIME. You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Thank you! For your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan@time.com.<doc-sep>Who knew bees liked to supplement their diet with hot dogs? (CNN) — Times Square was a hive of activity Tuesday afternoon, as more than 40,000 bees swarmed a hot dog stand at the corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street. Known as an absconded hive, the bees were looking for a new home to escape the sweltering heat, said Officer Darren Mays, one of the New York Police Department’s two official beekeepers. “The hive got overcrowded because it was hot and humid and they just needed a new place to go so they can keep cool,” Mays said. He also runs the official NYPD Bees Twitter account, which was buzzing with likes and retweets as many New Yorkers learned that their police force had beekeepers on staff. Much like New Yorkers, in the summer the bees feel that the hive is just too....crowded. So they take off for a little relocation. https://t.co/7ZJJfAxBzR — NYPD Bees (@NYPDBees) August 28, 2018 Mays said the bees likely went looking for a new home after leaving one of the rooftop hives of a nearby building. Second-beekeeper-in-command, Officer Michael Lauriano, responded to the scene in full protective gear, including a netted bee helmet. It took Lauriano 45 minutes to carefully vacuum the bees. The street was cordoned off and no injuries were reported, according to the NYPD. Not all beekeepers wear an NYPD uniform, but it takes a special person to wear an NYPD uniform and a veil jacket to handle a swarm of bees https://t.co/FLStxzYST8 — NYPD Bees (@NYPDBees) August 28, 2018 Mays confirmed the bees have been safely stored in a hive box and are being transported by police van to an apiary on Long Island. “Unfortunately, they won’t be able to make any honey this season,” said Mays, explaining that they will have to be well fed to make it through the winter. Mays, who has served since 2014 as the NYPD’s beekeeper in addition to his regular duties, said this has been one of the slowest bee seasons in recent years. He has had to make similar “scoops” in the past. Hives of this scale have been buzzing around Manhattan for some time, said Detective Hubert Reyes, public Information officer for the NYPD. “That’s why we have a beekeeper. You gotta be ready for everything right?”<doc-sep>
Police worked to safely and humanely remove the bees using a vacuum Thousands of Bees Take Over Hot Dog Stand in Middle of Times Square: 'Just Another Day in N.Y.C.' A hot dog with a heaping side of honey, anyone? Unsuspecting New Yorkers were met by a large swarm of bees that took over a hot dog stand in the middle of Times Square on Tuesday afternoon, prompting the closure of a street and, of course, leading to several jokes about the sticky situation on social media. Pictures and videos from the scene show thousands of the bees zipping around nearby onlookers as a bulk of the insects gathered on the cart’s blue and yellow umbrella. New York Police Department officers quickly cordoned off the area and sent one lucky (or unlucky) patrolman — equipped with a bee vacuum and protective gear — to safely suck up the bees from the umbrella. The officer, identified as Michael Lauriano by the New York Post, is an 18-year NYPD veteran who is known as “The Bee Guy.” “We try to get as many as we can. We like to keep the families together,” Lauriano told the Post. “ In short time, Lauriano was able to gather up a majority of the insects using the vacuum, the paper reported. They’ll soon be transported to a new home. bees “We’ve got to determine (where to take them),” Lauriano said, “but definitely in a hive.” Because bee populations have been dropping significantly over the last few years, it is important that when you are unexpectedly confronted with a swarm that you move to a safe area and allow a beekeeper to remove the swarm and keep them alive. The Times Square bee swarm quickly became a trending topic on Twitter (much like the pizza rat before it) and many took the chance to poke fun at the ordeal. RELATED: Woman In Critical Condition After Being Stung Over 200 Times by Africanized Bees NYPD commissioner James O’Neill even got in on the fun with a few puns. “Fear not, New Yorkers and tourists. Midtown Manhattan is all abuzz about #NYPD’s ability to bee a full-service organization,” he wrote in a tweet. “Right now, we’re humanely, & safely, handling the @NYPDBees swarm in @NYPDTimesSquare. Just another day in #NYC.” This is not the only time bees have taken over a portion of Times Square in recent months.