Honey bee forage in Gila Crossing, Arizona

When is the honey flow in Gila Crossing?

• First forage: Jan 1 (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 15, peaking late Feb (early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Dearth: Jul 16 to Jul 31
• Dearth: Oct 1 to Dec 15
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gila Crossing, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Feb 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush, garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush, garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering shrubs, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Alfalfa: about 590 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late May (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Gila Crossing

Mostly: Sonoran Paloverde-Mixed Cacti Desert Scrub; Interior West Ruderal Riparian Scrub; Sonora-Mojave Creosotebush-White Bursage Desert Scrub.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.23 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.3 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Gila Crossing ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 89% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Komatke 2 mi · Santa Cruz 3 mi · St. Johns 3 mi · Maricopa Colony 7 mi · Avondale 10 mi · Goodyear 12 mi

All towns in Arizona · National map · How the scoring works

An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Gila Crossing (33.273, -112.1627); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.