After he finished shopping in a Plus Cruise grocery store in the US state of New Mexico, a local resident got into his car, to go home.

On the way, the man was surprised by a strange guest in the back seat, who had never crossed his mind: a swarm of bees consisting of “15 thousand bees,” according to what US media outlets, including the New York Times, reported.

The man, who was not named, had left one of the windows of his car open at noon Sunday when he left it to go shopping.

It is common for bee colonies to split in the spring, and are easier to handle when combined into a single hive.

However, the man was stunned, and after trying to act, to no avail, with some in attendance, he found no solution but to call the emergency number, according to the Las Cruces fire department.

Fortunately, a member of the fire brigade specializes in beekeeping, and after wearing a flak jacket, he was able to transport the swarm to his home in a box smeared with lemon leaf oil that matches the scent of a queen bee.

The mission took only 20-30 minutes, although the firefighter could have completed it in just five minutes, he told the newspaper.

Fortunately, according to the New York Times, the confrontation only resulted in two minor stings on a security man and a firefighter.