Honey bee forage in Thatcher, Arizona

When is the honey flow in Thatcher?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Thatcher, 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 Mar 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): cotton, garden flowers, rabbitbrush, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); dark amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), cotton, summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Cotton: about 382 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late Jun (grown 4 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 Thatcher

Mostly: Sonora-Mojave Creosotebush-White Bursage Desert Scrub; Chihuahuan Mixed Desert and Thornscrub; North American Warm Desert Ruderal & Planted Scrub.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.15 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.17 mi W.

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 Thatcher ranks

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

About 73% 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

Central 4 mi · Safford 4 mi · Cactus Flats 4 mi · Swift Trail Junction 7 mi · Pima 7 mi · Solomon 8 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 Thatcher (32.8127, -109.7665); 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.