Londoners were sent into panic after a swarm of bees took over a bank of Santander bikes outside Warren Street station.
A beekeeper was called in to dismantle the hive, which had taken up residence on two of the bike stands.
Footage and images shared on social media showed a cloud of insects swarming around one of the bikes.
It left some commuters in the capital horrified. Richard Bennett wrote on Twitter: "I think I will take the bus!"
People were divided as to whether the creatures were wasps or bees.
One woman shared an image of the bikes on Twitter, writing: "Just a swarm of wasps (the brown mass on the middle bike stand) trying to figure out how to use the @SantanderCycles in Warren Street."
And another woman posted pictures of the beekeeper sweeping the swarm away on Facebook.
She wrote: "Wasp situation being sorted outside Warren Street! A whole Hive living in a Borris Bike. This poor chaps job to sweep them up!"
But many commented on the post to say that they were actually bees.
One man said: "I'm gonna guess their bees and probably just migrating."
And Andy Coburn added: "It’s a swarm of bees, it’s the time of year that this happens. The bee keeper is collecting the swarm to take it away and try and establish a new colony."
Another joked that the bees were just trying to get close to nearby restaurant Honey & Co, on Warren Street
