Chelsea Meryl Salmon does not mind a slight sting, and she is definitely used to sharp objects.

But the Wagga Wagga tattoo artist is still shaken after glancing outside on Tuesday afternoon and spying a swarm of bees.

“We just looked out the window and there were just thousands and thousands of them all across the windows [and] people running through the street,” she said.

“I’ve never seen that many bees before, it was pretty crazy.”Woman with red fringe and face piercings smiling

Chelsea Meryl Salmon says she has never seen so many bees. (ABC Riverina: Jess Scully)

The bees appeared without warning on Gurwood Street, in the city’s CBD, at about 2pm.

Most nestled on a footpath advertising sign, but others flew onto the busy street.

Why bees swarm

Beekeepers say swarms are nothing to fear and are in fact essential for future pollination of a third of the food we eat. 

Wagga Wagga Amateur Beekeepers Club president Ross de Clifford said colonies often became more active as the weather began to warm up.

“Generally, what happens is they outgrow their home,” he said.

“So then over two to three days, they decide to split the colony in half … the queen takes off with half and she leaves half behind.

“They’ll land somewhere close by while the scout bees within the group of the colony that she has taken with her go off and search for a new home.”

Bee removal a job for experts

Mr de Clifford said migrating swarms were “generally pretty docile”.

“They haven’t got a home that they’re protecting,” he said.

“So we generally find that the swarms are very docile, but that doesn’t remove the risk of getting stung.

“If you poke a sleeping bear it might wake up and it might bite you, same thing with swarms.”

A swarm of bees on a restaurant seating barrier, on a road in a country town.

The bees, pictured outside a Wagga Wagga dumpling restaurant, have since moved on. (ABC News: Bruce MacKenzie)

Mr de Clifford said dealing with a swarm of bees was a job best left to experts.

“We’ll chuck a suit on or even just chuck a veil [and] some gloves on and we’ll either use a cardboard box or a beehive box … and we’ll just gently scoop them off,” he said.

“If we can, we will leave them … and then come back and collect them at night.”

The bees in Wagga Wagga were moved on by a beekeeper after about an hour and a half.

Mr de Clifford said the swarm could have come from an established hive in someone’s backyard, or from an old building or hollow log.