A “huge” swarm of bees descended near Elliot Primary School this weekend, prompting a police alert — but the event proved a happy one for local beekeepers.

According to school principal Kimberly Creighton, the bees, which arrived on Saturday, have not strayed into the schoolyard.

Police advised pedestrians and drivers to use caution around the junction of Hermitage Road and Devon Spring Road in Devonshire.

But bee expert Randolph Furbert said the insects, intent on the height of their honey gathering for the winter, posed no risk unless provoked.

Welcoming the swarm, Mr Furbert told The Royal Gazette it demonstrated the revival of the island’s bee population since the debilitating varroa mite arrived in 2008.

The insects would have split off from an overcrowded hive, with a new queen leaving with about one-third of the bees to form a new nest.

“It’s overcrowding, which I predicted when I said they were coming back,” Mr Furbert said. “They are extremely busy, with the vegetation that they use blooming right now. That is why we’re hoping we won’t have a hurricane later this week.”

Mexican pepper and fiddlewood, richly in bloom, are being harvested, and a dead cedar by the roadside is likely hollow and packed with honeycomb.

Mr Furbert said there had recently been mass swarm near Loyal Hill, which another beekeeper had attended. He added that he hoped to be at Hermitage Road today.

“We need the bees to get pollination and to get honey,” Mr Furbert said. “They are vital to our survival. We’re just hoping there are no heavy rains, where all the goodness gets washed to the ground.”

Bees would calm soon, he said, although a good number remained last night.

“They’re busy as bees. If nobody bothers them, nothing will happen.”

UPDATE: Includes comments from bee expert Randolph Furbert