Honey bee forage in Silverdale, Kansas

When is the honey flow in Silverdale?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jul 31, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Silverdale, 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 Apr 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), soybeans, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
• Whole season (March to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; 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 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul (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 Silverdale

Mostly: Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie; Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland; Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.09 mi NE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.14 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 Silverdale ranks

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

About 66% 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

Parkerfield 5 mi · Arkansas City 8 mi · Dexter 14 mi · Winfield 14 mi · Geuda Springs 15 mi · New Salem 19 mi

All towns in Kansas · 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 Silverdale (37.0424, -96.9017); 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.