OPELOUSAS, La. (The Daily World) – A swarm of bees caused a stir Thursday, temporarily shutting down part of the city.

Several Opelousas police cars blocked off a portion of Stardust Street and an entrance to a shopping center after the bees swarmed a fire hydrant in the Aaron’s parking lot off of Creswell Lane.

Opelousas Mayor Reggie Tatum was in attendance, keeping his distance from the scene.

“I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen something like this before,” Tatum said with a laugh Thursday as he viewed the bees from across the street.

Tatum said he received the call about the bees at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Opelousas doesn’t have a city beekeeper, but Tatum’s secretary found Ray Hebert, a beekeeper in the Church Point area, to do the job.

The mayor said he blocked off the street and urged drivers to avoid the bees to keep citizens, especially children, safe.

“Being that they’re out of school, I figured a few kids would try to mess with them (bees),” Tatum said. “Kids are inquisitive. A kid saw the bees and the first thing he did was pick up a rock.”

Hebert arrived at about 2:20 p.m. and, dressed in a full bee suit, grabbed as many bees as he could and placed them into a bucket.

He sprayed poison for the remaining bees on the hydrant, which caused them to disperse towards the group of men standing at a distance, causing some to take steps toward their vehicles.

“This was nothing serious at all,” Hebert said. “That was just a swarm, like those that hang from the branch of a tree.”

Hebert said it’s typical for bees to find a rest spot such as a hydrant and protect the queen bee until the scout bees find a new place to build a new home.

Outside of the bees being gone, Tatum said another positive that came out of Thursday’s escapade.

“We know who to call now if this ever happens again,” Tatum said with a smile. “We’ll keep his (Hebert) card at city hall and at the police department.”