Honey bee forage in The Highlands, Kansas

When is the honey flow in The Highlands?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of The Highlands, 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 15.

What the honey is made of

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

• Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 280 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – 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 The Highlands

Mostly: Western Great Plains Sand Prairie; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland; Northern & Central Native Ruderal Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.07 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.11 mi SE.

How The Highlands ranks

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

About 74% 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

Willowbrook 5 mi · Hutchinson 7 mi · Nickerson 8 mi · South Hutchinson 10 mi · Buhler 10 mi · Inman 11 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 The Highlands (38.1659, -97.9496); 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.