Manila: Hundreds of bees invaded a tree near a school, prompting authorities to send home about 840 students in central Philippines, a local paper said.

The noisy bees arrived in a rectangular formation and settled on a mahogany tree in the middle part of the Trinity Christian School in Bacolod City in the Visayas last Monday, Esther Jane Uy, the school principal, told the Inquirer.

When the students were gone, authorities called on experts to drive away the bees, Uy said, adding that many measures were taken to remove the buzzing insects from the mahogany tree.