15,000 bees invade car while owner shops for groceries, New Mexico police say

A New Mexico man got a shock Sunday when he pulled out of a supermarket parking lot and found 15,000 wayward bees had invaded his back seat while he shopped, police say.

The wayward bees had entered through the car’s open window outside an Albertsons in Las Cruces at about 4 p.m., the Las Cruces Police Department wrote on Facebook.

An off-duty Las Cruces firefighter who is also a beekeeper safely relocated the swarm to his property outside town while a fire crew remained on scene in case of trouble, police wrote.

Firefighter Jesse Johnson arrived with all the tools of the beekeeping trade — “a hive kit, lemongrass oil, gloves and proper attire” — to carry out the two-hour rescue mission, the Facebook post says.

A security guard at the supermarket suffered a bee sting, police said, noting they did not know if any other customers were stung.

“The Las Cruces Fire Department does not regularly remove bee swarms,” police wrote. But firefighters decided it was the best solution to having such a large swarm in a high-traffic area.

This story was originally published March 29, 2021 at 2:29 PM with the headline "15,000 bees invade car while owner shops for groceries, New Mexico police say."