[UPDATES BELOW] Bees, though declining precipitously worldwide, seem to enjoy making homes atop random trees, structures, and art exhibitions in our fair city. And today, we saw something new—a reader spotted the above bee-covered bike at 56th Street and 7th Avenue this morning. Sorry, cyclist, you might have to buy a MetroCard today.

Though it appears the bees have thrown in their lot with the rabid anti-cyclist forces at the NY Post, bee expert and former NYPD bee manager Tony "Bees" Planakis says they're probably expats from a beehive nearby. "When a swarm takes place, it's going to take place within 100, 150 feet of the mother hive," Planakis told us. "Bees are going to say, 'We're going to go to the closest location and sit there and regroup, we're going to wait for the queen to arrive, and once she does, scouts will go look for a new home.'" According to Planakis, a swarm of about 15,000 bees could take place in "literally a matter of minutes," so that bike's handle was a goner.

Sadly, these bees will probably have some trouble finding a new home closer to food: "The scouts are out there looking for a new home. Unfortunately, in August, it's pretty much suicide," Planakis said, pointing out that most of the bees' food source has disappeared for the season. So, essentially, we're looking at a bee snuff film, though apparently the NYPD is on the scene—perhaps they'll be able to save these little guys before they're forced to starve to death in Midtown. A sad way to go, indeed.

Update 1:12 p.m.: A tipster tells us the NYPD is #ONIT, having dispatched two cop cars and 5 officers to protect the bees. See below:

Update 3:08 p.m.: Now with video!


Tipsters tell us the bees have since been removed, and hopefully they are now safe. But do not forget that briefly, 57th Street looked like this: