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Story revised Friday, May 12 to correctly identify the insects as bees and not hornets.

RICH SQUARE – Some unwelcome visitors temporarily disrupted traffic in Rich Square on Tuesday afternoon.

The culprit was a swarm of honeybees.

Rich Square Mayor Reginald White told the News Herald that the bees were located in a large flower pot at the corner of East Jackson Street (Highway 305) and Main Street (Highway 258). Each time a vehicle drove by, he explained, the bees would fly out and swarm.

He said he got a call about the issue around 2 p.m. on May 9, and due to the safety concerns, the town’s police chief called in a professional to remove the bees.

“When we were working on it, we blocked the road off so no traffic could come by and stir them up,” White said, and then jokingly added that the bees, “shut down Rich Square.”

The mayor reported that it was difficult to get the bees removed during the daytime when they were active, so it was after sunset before they were able to get them safely taken away from the flower pot.

“Everything was back to normal the next day,” White said, adding that no injuries were reported from the incident.