Beekeeper Leigh Reti from Absolute-Bee NZ was tasked with finding and capturing the queen bee so that the other bees would follow.

People in Pukekohe were forced to duck for cover after a massive swarm of bees invaded to the town square on Tuesday afternoon.

Thousands of bees buzzed above the main street, forcing shopowners and workers to close their doors and windows in fear of being stung.

Some were frightened and others bewildered.

Angela Dunn The massive bee swarm had locals ducking for cover.

"It's so fascinating," said Tom Thorn, who was taking videos of the bees.

"Just look at them, they are amazing - absolutely incredible."

Beekeeper Leigh Reti from Absolute-Bee NZ was alerted to the swarm after seeing a post a post on Facebook.

RUWADE BRYANT/STUFF Beekeeper Leigh Reti removes thousands of bees from a shelter in Pukekohe's CBD.

"People are scared of bees and they don't know what they are doing with them," said Reti.

"They aren't doing any harm, they are just looking for somewhere new to go."

The bees made their way to a pedestrian shelter that covers some of Juwala Singh Lane, which links pedestrians from the Massey St carpark to King St, where they began to form "cones" in an effort to construct a hive.

Angela Dunn Bees swarm into Pukekohe's town centre.

They were following commands from the queen bee, Reti said

After she located the queen bee and placed her into a plastic container, the rest of the bees followed. She said she would take the bees back to her farm where she would put them into a new hive with new frames ready for the season ahead.

As for the stragglers who weren't able to join the rest of the colony, Reti said she would come back for them on Wednesday as "they would still be floating around wondering where the rest of them have gone".