A cone wall was created to keep the bees contained (Picture: Media Wales)

Cardiff was abuzz with activity this afternoon following some unlikely visitors to the city centre.

A swarm of bees appeared on St Mary’s Street – much to the surprise of humans in the area.

The area was quickly cordoned off with cones to keep shoppers out of harm’s way.

But. according to the British Beekeepers Association, most honey bee swarms are not aggressive but they advise people to keep away and leave them alone.

The bees stationed themselves in front of a popular restaurant in the city (Picture: Media Wales)

Honey bee swarming is natural and usually happens when the bees are looking for a new home.

Bee keepers have a saying which goes: ‘A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly’, which means the later in the year it is, the less time there will be for bees to collect pollen from flowers in blossom.

A swarm of bumblebees are also best left alone, says the association, as they are valuable pollinators, with some being endangered.

A shop in Chepstow, Monmouthshire was recently forced to close due to an influx of bees.

Stunned shoppers raised the alarm after thousands of the insects descended on an area of scaffolding in front of the shoe store in south-east Wales.

In another recent bee-zare scene, a swarm of bees stormed a historic castle once home to an earl in southeast England.

The skies over the Restormel Castle in Cornwall were covered with black and yellow dots on Sunday, with locals saying they could hear a ‘massive buzzing’.

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