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A car was pursued by a loyal 20,000-strong swarm of bees for two days after their queen got trapped in the boot.
The disgruntled swarm chased the 4x4 through Haverfordwest, west Wales, and attached themselves to the rear of the car where they remained for over 48 hours.
Carol Howarth, a 65-year-old grandmother, said she “had never seen anything like it” when thousands of the insects flew at the back of her silver Mitsubishi Outlander.
Five beekeepers, park wardens and passers spent hours trying to get the bees into a cardboard box in which they could be transported safely away.
However shortly after this was achieved, the wind blew off the lid of the box and the queen became lodged in the car’s rear compartment once again.
The owner drove away unaware before the swarm returned to the car once more in an attempt to rescue their trapped matriarch.
Roger Burns, from Pembrokeshire Beekeepers Association, told the Milford Mercury : “We think the queen had been attracted to something in the car, perhaps something sweet, and had got into a gap on the boot’s wiper blade or perhaps the hinge.
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Justin Hofman / Natural History Museum
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Cristobal Serrano / Natural History Museum
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Bond of brothers - Winner David Lloyd, New Zealand / UK. These two adult males, probably brothers, greeted and rubbed faces for 30 seconds before settling down. Most people never have the opportunity to witness such animal sentience, and David was honoured to have experienced and captured such a moment.The picture was taken in Ndutu, Serengeti, Tanzania.
David Lloyd / Natural History Museum
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Matthew Maran / Natural History Museum
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Wim Van Den Heever / Natural History Museum
Wildlife Photographer of the Year One toy, three dogs - Highly Commended Bence Mate, Hungary. While adult African wild dogs are merciless killers, their pups are extremely cute and play all day long. Bence photographed these brothers in Mkuze, South Africa –they all wanted to play with the leg of an impala and were trying to drag it in three different directions!
Bence Mate / Natural History Museum
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Clam Close-up - Shortlisted David Barrio, Spain. This macro-shot of an iridescent clam was taken in the Southern Red Sea, Marsa Alam, Egypt. These clams spend their lives embedded amongst stony corals, where they nest and grow. It took David some time to approach the clam, fearing it would sense his movements and snap shut!
David Barrio / Natural History Museum
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Suzi Eszterhas / Natural History Museum
Wildlife Photographer of the Year Ice and Water - Shortlisted Audun Lie Dahl, Norway. The Bråsvellbreen glacier moves southwards from one of the ice caps covering the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. Where it meets the sea, the glacier wall is so high that only the waterfalls are visible, so Audun used a drone to capture this unique perspective
Audun Lie Dahl / Natural History Museum
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Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum
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David Lloyd / Natural History Museum
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Eduardo Blanco Mendizabal / Natural History Museum
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Konstantin Shatenev / Natural History Museum
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Pedro Carrillo / Natural History Museum
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Tin Man Lee / Natural History Museum
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Anna Henly / Natural History Museum
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Tony Wu / Natural History Museum
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Phil Jones / Natural History Museum
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Federico Veronesi / Natural History Museum
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Christian Vizl / Natural History Museum
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Franco Banfi / Natural History Museum
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Antonio Leiva Sanchez / Natural History Museum
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Audren Morel / Natural History Museum
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Rob Blanken / Natural History Museum
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Connor Stefanison / Natural History Museum
Wildlife Photographer of the Year A dog jumps to catch a disc during a dog frisbee competition in Poznan
via REUTERS
“I left the cardboard box on the roof while we waited for the last few hundred bees to leave the boot but then a gust of wind blew it off and the queen fled back to the boot again.
“I have been beekeeping for 30 years and I have never seen a swarm do that. It is natural for them to follow the queen but it is a strange thing to see and quite surprising to have a car followed for two days. It was quite amusing.”
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