A swarm of bees descended on Court Street, between Broadway and Mosher, on Friday. The couple thousand bees alternated between a spot on the sidewalk in front of the Blue Gator and a tree next to the Isabella Bank.

Bee keeper Bob Barnard said the swarm was likely looking for their queen. She must of have left from a hive on the tree then landed on the sidewalk, leaving her scent that they picked up on.

I'm not scared of or allergic to bees, but it hurts to get stung, so I tend to avoid them if possible. But photographing tends to remove any regard for self-preservation that I have, so I walked right into them.
I've never been surrounded by thousands of bees and completely serene at the same time...it was quite an experience.




Sun Photographs by RYAN EVON