Bees besiege Times Square street, drawing swarm of tourists

A man photographs bees as a swarm gathers in Times Square in New York City, U.S., August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - It was a case of hold the honey, double the mustard in Times Square at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Police shut part of 43rd Street near Seventh Avenue after a thick swarm of bees gathered atop a blue and yellow umbrella over a hotdog cart in an area of Manhattan already buzzing with swarms of pedestrians, tourists and traffic.

A police officer who keeps bees himself, arrived at the scene in Times Square, known as "The Crossroads of the World," at 2:30 p.m. (EST), wearing a mesh-hooded beekeeper suit. He deployed a vacuum cleaner-like device to collect the bees unharmed, said New York Police Detective Sophia Mason.

The scene drew crowds of tourists taking photographs.

"It took about 45 minutes to suck them up," Mason said. "They are at an undisclosed location. They will rehive them."

No one was injured in the incident, Mason said.

"The bees just wanted some hot dogs," she added.

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Chris Reese)