Play is suspended at Indian Wells tennis tournament due to an invasion of BEES - with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and his opponent Alexander Zverev forced to run for cover

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev were forced to run for cover during their Indian Wells quarterfinal on Thursday after a swarm of bees invaded the court.

In remarkable scenes more reminiscent of a horror movie, thousands of bees descended on the main stadium in California, with play immediately suspended.

An incredible photo shows the insects all over the 'spider cam' that glides across the court, with officials forced to raise the camera high above the stadium in a bid to take the bees with it.

TV coverage carried a message on the screen detailing that play had been suspended due to a 'bee invasion'.

In one clip, aired on beIN Sports, Alcaraz can be seen running off court and attempting to swat the bees away from his head as they took over the match - which was just nine minutes old.

A swarm of bees covers the TV providers' 'spider cam' during Carlos Alcaraz's quarterfinal 

Alcaraz was forced to sprint for cover as the insects took over the stadium in California

The TV feed cut to the spider cam, with bees crawling all over it as it rose above the stadium

The quarterfinal match was one of the most highly-anticipated of the tournament so far, with world No. 2 Alcaraz taking on world No. 6 Zverev for a place in the last four. 

Fans quickly took to social media to react to the bizarre scenes, with Judy Murray - mother of British tennis legend Andy - joking: 'You cannot bee serious.'

She added: 'Play suspended on the Stadium Court at Indian Wells after a bee invasion. That's got to be a first!'

The insects appeared to converge on the spider cam and one fan noted: 'They seem to be claiming it as their new hive.'

The incident occurred around 3:30pm local time, and had officials scrambling to deal with the unexpected problem.

The spider cam was lifted out of the stadium but an hour later, the problem still wasn't solved

TV coverage referred to the stoppage as being due to a 'bee invasion' - surely a first for tennis

Back in the safety of the TV room, the players watched the incredible scenes unfold on court

Officials rushed out onto the court to work out how to deal with the unwanted bee invasion

Incredibly, one official was tasked with taking a vacuum up to the spider cam, where he could be seen sucking up the bees into his device.

Quickly becoming a fans' favorite, he spent over an hour trying to rid the court of the insets - without wearing any protective equipment or beekeeping kit. 

The players remained off-court while the drama unfolded, and fans waited patiently in their seats for more information.

A beekeeper was tasked with taking a vacuum to the spider cam to rid the court of the insect

He also used his beekeeper spray on the scoreboard, and quickly became a fans' favorite

Spectators high-five the beekeeper as he travels round the stadium working his magic

After an hour and a half, the players returned to the court to warm up, but Alcaraz appeared to tell officials that he was still unable to focus on the ball and was instead 'focusing on the bees' when he tried to play a shot.

Play eventually restarted after 1hr 50 minutes - shortly after 5pm on the west coast of America.

Indian Wells is one of the jewels in the tennis calendar, taking place in the middle of the desert outside California.

The bizarre bee incident only affected the main stadium, with American superstar Coco Gauff able to continue with her own quarterfinal match on the court next door.