Bees removed from Pa. Turnpike tollbooth

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- The bees that swarmed a toll booth on the Pennsylvania Turnpike have been removed.

A photo provided by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission showed the swarm engulfing one of the lights on the tollbooth at the Valley Forge interchange in King of Prussia.

Tens of thousands of honey bees made themselves at home in lane number 9.

Toll booth workers opted not to work anywhere near the lane and many kept their windows closed as much as possible.

The lane was turned into an E-ZPass lane so drivers could keep it moving.

It finally closed when Don Shump from the Philadelphia Bee Company arrived to the delight of workers.

Shump explains, "Honey bees are the only species of stinging insect that act in this manner, that swarm. And when they are swarming they're really gentle. They're not a sting threat."

Shump says, believe it or not, there were 30 to 40 thousand honey bees at the toll plaza, following their queen.

He believes our heat is one reason they were on the move.

"Our goal up there is to try and get the queen from the swarm into a hive box. Once we get it into a hive, and we can seal the hive up, we leave the entrance open, most of the other bees will start smelling the queen and will fly into the box."

And that's exactly what happened. By late afternoon, most of the bees were successfully removed.

The toll plaza is now operating normally.