The man was arrested for 'careless driving' according to police sources

Montana Highway Patrol was alerted to the scene by fellow motorists

The driver was swerving across the road when he was spotted by police

Highway patrol officers in Montana pulled over a driver swerving all over the road only to discover thousands of Russian honey bees flying loose inside the cabin.

Officers were alerted by fellow road users who complained that the car was unable to keep between the the lines while driving down the highway.

The motorist was transporting five different hives, each containing thousands of bees, inside his ordinary family saloon.

Montana Highway Patrol pulled over the car, pictured, after complaints it was driving erratically

The man told police he was transporting five hives containing thousands of Russian honey bees

Initially, the traffic police believed that the man was transporting the bees in an illegal manner, although when they sought guidance from the state's apiarist, who told them the man did not require any special permits for his unusual cargo.

The apiarist told the highway patrol that carrying loose bees inside the cabin of a car is unsafe.

The troopers issued the driver a ticket for careless driving because of the way the bees obscured the view from the windscreen.

Russian honey bees were first imported into the United States in the mid 1990s to provide a solution to the dwindling numbers of domestic bees.

The original bee population was being wiped out by an infestation of pets and a string of severe winters.