Sort-of-but-not-technically-husband to the Prime Minister Clarke Gayford has confirmed that he and Jacinda Ardern have received a “lovely” gift to the tune of some 600 live bees from the town of New Plymouth.

The bees were sent to the Prime Minister as a gift for the arrival of her baby, after Mayor Neil Holdom failed to acquire a buzzy bee toy.

There is a severe nationwide shortage of the toys, as most have been sold as gifts for the Prime Minister already.

Ardern and Clarke are now estimated to own roughly 80% of existing stock of buzzy bees.

“Obviously we wanted to get the Prime Minister a buzzy bee,” said Holdom. “But the upside to having to send them actual bees, is it could be a nice change of pace, and they can show their daughter the fake bees and the real bees and then discuss the differences, and that sort of thing.”

Gayford, taking a rare phone call from media this afternoon, said the bees were “great” but “presently uncontained.”

He urged anyone to contact him if they knew what to do with the bees, or how to “control them.”

It is presently unknown whether the Prime Minister is allergic to bees, and Mayor Holdom admits that’s “something I wish I’d known, actually, before I did this.”

Following this line of questioning, Holdom appeared nervous and abruptly ended the interview, saying he had to “make some phone calls.”

BABYWATCH BABY FACT: Bees work long hours, and pregnant bees have little to no access to maternity leave.