Honey bee forage in Aurora, Missouri

When is the honey flow in Aurora?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Aurora, 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 11.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): 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

• Sunflower: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early 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 Aurora

Mostly: Eastern Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.34 mi SW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.5 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 78% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

How Aurora ranks

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

About 46% 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

Verona 4 mi · Marionville 5 mi · Crane 9 mi · Hoberg 10 mi · Chesapeake 10 mi · Freistatt 11 mi

All towns in Missouri · 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 Aurora (36.9674, -93.7186); 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.