Honey bee forage in Maricopa Colony, Arizona

When is the honey flow in Maricopa Colony?

• First forage: Jan 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31, peaking early Apr (alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Dec 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Maricopa Colony, 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): alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Summer honey (July and August): garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), rabbitbrush; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; dark amber
• Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers; white, likely to set within weeks to a few 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 1,248 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – late May (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cotton: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 2 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 Maricopa Colony

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

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.13 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.15 mi N.

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 Maricopa Colony ranks

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

About 56% 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

St. Johns 4 mi · Komatke 6 mi · Tolleson 6 mi · Avondale 7 mi · Gila Crossing 7 mi · Santa Cruz 10 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 Maricopa Colony (33.3626, -112.2268); 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.