Pedestrians in Dublin’s north inner city were forced to flee from North Frederick Street in Dublin on Wednesday afternoon as a swarm of bees descended onto the street.

The bees appeared on the street shortly after 3pm and Gardaí were quickly on the scene in a sting operation as they directed pedestrians away from the swarm. The bees were seen in a pile “the size of a man hole” on the east side of the street.

Locals and businesses alike kept their doors firmly shut in the fear that the swarm would come through the doors and a beekeeper was quickly on the scene to take the queen bee away from her loyal followers.

The bees were swarming at the junction with Dorset Street when a passerby threw a can of coke on the ground. The bees were quick to cluster around the soft drink where they lay for about 45 minutes.

A bee swarm discovered on Frederick St Nrth and is being protected by Gardai until beekeeper arrives to secure pic.twitter.com/vDIIxOjGuc — Steve Conlon (@stevenconlon) July 1, 2015

Sheena Fitzsimons, a Phibsborough native, said she had never seen anything like it.

“In all my years walking down this street I’ve never witnessed anything like it. They appeared out of nowhere and seemed to be chasing after people,” she said.

“Somebody threw a can of coke on the ground and they all went towards it. A beekeeper came and took the queen away but the rest of them stayed for a bit longer”.

According to Paul Boyle of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers association, it’s not that unusual for swarms to suddenly appear in urban areas at this time of the year.

“This is how honey bees produce new colonies. The queen bee leaves the colony with about 60 per cent of the worker bees from the old hive in search of a new home. They won’t be aggressive towards us at all, unless they perceive you as a threat,” he said.