It was a case of hold the honey, double the mustard in Times Square at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Police shut part of 43rd Street near Seventh Avenue after a thick swarm of bees gathered atop a blue and yellow umbrella over a hotdog cart in an area of Manhattan already buzzing with pedestrians, tourists and traffic.

A police officer who keeps bees himself, arrived at the scene in Times Square at 2:30 p.m. (EST), wearing a mesh-hooded beekeeper suit.

He deployed a vacuum cleaner-like device to collect the bees unharmed, said New York Police Detective Sophia Mason.

The officer had the majority of the bees collected in a matter of minutes.

The scene soon drew crowds of tourists taking photographs as they swatted away the insects.

"It took about 45 minutes to suck them up," Mason said. "They are at an undisclosed location. They will rehive them."

No one was injured in the incident, Mason said.

"The bees just wanted some hot dogs," she added.