Arizona Diamondbacks' game against LA Dodgers is delayed due to a BEE COLONY swarming behind home plate - forcing seats to be evacuated

The start of the Arizona Diamondbacks game against the Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed due to a bee colony swarming behind home plate, forcing seats in a few sections to be evacuated. 

The game was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. local time in Phoenix, with a delay of more than 90 minutes to allow the bees to be successfully removed from the field of play. 

The delay also caused the Diamondbacks to change their starting pitcher for Tuesday's game. Jordan Montgomery was replaced by Brandon Hughes. 

Several Spring Training games have been delayed due to swarms of bees, especially in Arizona with extremely hot temperatures. 

Chase Field has a retractable roof, but it was open on Tuesday night, leading to the entry of the bees.  

The swarm of bees rested behind home plate in the netting to catch foul balls in Phoenix

All sections of seating near the bees were momentarily evacuated so they could be removed 

Players waited more than 90 minutes to begin the game, including Shohei Ohtani

Eventually, a beekeeper, Matt Hilton, was lifted up to the post 30 feet above the ground where the swarm was located. Hilton sprayed and vacuumed them out of sight. 

Playing over the speakers at Chase Field while the bug spray was deployed was 'Holding Out for a Hero' by Bonnie Tyler in a fitting move.  

After the colony was no longer in the field of play, Hilton was lowered to field level and pumped up the crowd. He received a massive ovation from those in attendance on Tuesday night. 

Hilton also threw out the ceremonial first pitch and held a press conference during the game.  

During the delay, the Diamondbacks official X account posted multiple bee facts. 

'Almost 90% of wild plants and 75% of leading global crops depend on animal pollination. One out of every three mouthfuls of our food depends on pollinators such as bees. Crops that depend on pollination are five times more valuable than those that do not,' one of the bee facts read. 

The Mariners official account responded with facts of their own in a 4,776-word message.  

The game officially got started at 8:36 p.m. local time.