Swarm Hotline

1.844.SPY.BEES (1.844.779.2337)

Call the hotline

For FREE! And, generally, within an hour or two.

What to do

If you are lucky enough to witness one of nature’s most fascinating migrations, a swarm:

Step 1: Don’t kill or spray them
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO KILL THEM! Do not spray them with insecticide or water! These bees are “survivor bees” and are crucial to our environmental health.
Step 2: Call the hotline
Call the NEW toll-free bee swarm hotline. 1.844.SPY.BEES
Step 3: A volunteer comes for free
We have volunteer beekeepers throughout the state ready to be dispatched to collect the bees and transfer them to a new home. For FREE! And, generally, within an hour or two.
Step 4: Be patient
Please be patient and Do NOT continue to call more beekeepers.

Is it a honey bee?

“Honey Bee” = FUZZY
“European Paper Wasp” = SHINY, skinny, bold black and yellow, not always striped.

Find your extension

If you know the extension for your swarm location, you may dial that extension at any time to be connected to a dispatcher.

Showing all 12 areas.

Press 1NW DEN Broomfield, Westminster area
Press 2West DEN or Jefferson County
Press 3Boulder County – Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Longmont
Press 4SouthEast DEN, Aurora, Parker, Castle Rock
Press 5Southwest DEN – Highlands Ranch, Littleton
Press 6Northern Colorado, areas north of Highway 52
Dial 729NorthEast metro – Eastern Plains, Brighton, Northglenn, Thornton, Limon
Dial 757Southern Colorado – Colorado Springs – Pueblo
Dial 787Buena Vista – Leadville
Dial 789Four Corners area – Durango
Dial 792Western Slope – Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade
Dial 797San Luis Valley, Alamosa

Full recorded message

Here is the message you will hear when connecting to the SPY BEES Swarm Hotline

Hello, you have reached the Colorado SpyBees Swarm Hotline. If you know the extension for your swarm location, you may dial that extension at any time to be connected to a dispatcher.

Otherwise, here are your connection choices.

For all areas, to dial by city name. press 8
NW DEN Broomfield, Westminster area, press 1,
West DEN or Jefferson County, press 2
SouthEast DEN, Aurora, Parker, Castle Rock, Press 4.
Southwest DEN – Highlands Ranch, Littleton. Press 5
Boulder County – Boulder, Lafayette, Louisville, Longmont, Press 3
Northern Colorado, areas north of Highway 52 press 6.
NorthEast metro – Eastern Plains, Brighton, Northglenn, Thornton, Limon dial 729
Southern Colorado – Colorado Springs – Pueblo – dial 757
San Luis Valley, Alamosa Dial 797
Buena Vista – Leadville Dial 787
Four Corners area – Durango – dial 789
Western Slope – Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade – dial 792
You may also press 0 for the main dispatcher.

You may be provided additional options when connected. It may take a moment to connect. If the dispatcher is unable to answer, please leave your name, area code, and telephone number at the tone.

For cities not found in the city name directory, enter the next closest city or press 0,

To restart this announcement, press the star key at any time.

Thank you for saving the bees. Goodbye.

About swarms

Bees swarm in the spring. In Colorado, bees swarm from approximately April 1st until the end of the summer with May and June being the busiest months. A swarm occurs when a hive, wild or managed, becomes overcrowded and the old queen and approximately half of the original hive leaves to find a new home. Swarms are generally quite docile but they can be disconcerting due to the sheer numbers of bees within the swarm. It is still a good idea to keep your distance so as to not make the bees feel threatened.

Swarms will eventually leave on their own, once the scout bees have returned to inform the group that they have found a suitable new home. Where it may have taken an hour or more for the swarm to collect, they can be gone in less than a minute once they get word it is time to go. However, beekeepers prefer to catch the bees as a swarm in case their new home–is yours!

Photo needed: a swarm clustered on a branch, ideally a Colorado swarm call