Manchester tattoo parlours are raising money for the victims of Monday's terror attack in an artistic showing of solidarity and support.
James Davies, store manager of Alchemy Tattoo Studio in nearby Wigan, came up with the idea of tattooing worker bees after watching the horrific events of this week unfold.
James left a poignant message on Facebook in the wake of the bombing at Manchester Arena.
"On such a clear day, there's a cloud over our amazing city, he wrote.
"Again, people that are from a small sector of our world are trying to suppress our freedom, expression and our society.
"During these cloudy days we now all need to do our bit and come together and work.
"So what can we do Alchemy? The only thing we know how, Tattoo. Take pride, and respect.
"On Thursday, from 10.00am, we are going to be doing 'Manchester day'.
"We are doing a Manchester Bee on anyone that wishes to show there love for this amazing city".
James added that the bee, a historic symbol of a fiercely industrial city, is about taking "pride in the city that we are from and love".
He said it's a show of respect to the victims, families, and everyone affected by what happened on May 22. James noted that 100 per cent of the £22 fee would go to the appeal.
"The worker bee was adopted as a motif for Manchester during the Industrial Revolution," James explained.
"The bee denotes Mancunians' hard work during this era and Manchester being a hive of activity in the 19th century.
The bees are depicted on many structures in Manchester such as lampposts and bollards."
On Thursday, James said the parlour had been "inundated" with people hoping to get the iconic inking. People queued round the block from the early hours of the morning.
“I’m looking out of our window now and there are people queuing all the way down the street. It’s just insane,” he told i .
“We’ve got such a massive age demographic coming down for it. It’s everyone.
“When it’s your city it becomes personal and there’s only one thing you can do and that’s come together. Manchester is a strong city".
Other tattoo studios in the Manchester area have picked up the idea and will be doing similar designs over the bank holiday weekend.
Sam Barker has set up the Manchester Tattoo Appeal, and said that thousands of people have been in touch. The worker bee is proving popular.
“Ninety per cent of artists are fully booked up,” she said. “I’m currently trying to find artists for at least 500 more people and there will be thousands of others getting the design.”
Mirror Online has contacted James and the tattoo appeal organisers.