Stop the match! It’s a bee attack!

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev took to the tennis court on March 14 in Indian Wells, California. It was a tense moment in the BNP Paribas Open tournament (also called the Indian Wells Open). The players were tied one to one in their quarterfinal match.

And then the bees arrived. They buzzed around Mr. Alcaraz. He swatted. That didn’t seem to help. Finally, he abandoned the court and ran for cover. The match was delayed for one hour and 48 minutes.

Dozens of bees attached themselves to the “spider camera.” This camera hangs from a cable over the court. It can follow players. It moves from side to side and up and down.

A beekeeper came. Lance Davis used a vacuum to remove the bees from the camera. His business catches swarms of bees and takes them to a safer spot.

When the players returned, an umpire warned there were still some bees around. Mr. Zverev joked that he was happy to play on his side of the court. (The bees had bothered only Mr. Alcaraz’s side.)

The bee vacuumer was summoned back to the court. He brought a spray bottle. (The contents of the bottle were unidentified.) The crowd cheered wildly. He posed for selfies with fans. Mr. Alcaraz and Mr. Zverev laughed as they watched him wander the seats spraying for bees. Mr. Davis also doused the walls around the court.

In the end, Mr. Alcaraz won the match. Billionaires watched from the stands. But who was the real hero? The man who vacuumed the bees.

In general, people don’t enjoy being swarmed by bees. But what would life be like with no bees at all? Check your library for our recommended book, You Wouldn’t Want To Live without Bees.