Honey bee forage in Commerce City, Colorado

When is the honey flow in Commerce City?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15, peaking early May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Commerce City, 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 May 1.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; extra 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

• Millet: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep (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 Commerce City

Mostly: Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland; Developed, medium intensity.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.06 mi W.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

How Commerce City ranks

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

Nearby

Brighton 6 mi · Derby 7 mi · Todd Creek 8 mi · Thornton 8 mi · Lochbuie 9 mi · Welby 10 mi

All towns in Colorado · 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 Commerce City (39.8828, -104.7949); 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.