community in New Mexico
Honey bee forage in Cañones, New Mexico
Estimated forage here is better than about 17% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it ranks highest in summer (42nd percentile) and lowest in spring (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Cañones?
- First forage: Apr 1 (native wildflowers, spring-flowering shrubs)
- Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31, peaking late May (spring-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers)
- Fall flow: Sep 16 to Oct 31 (rabbitbrush, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cañones, 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 9.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, summer-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed, native wildflowers; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed; dark amber
- Whole season (March to November): spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, summer-flowering shrubs, rabbitbrush; amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
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 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep (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 Cañones
Mostly: Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland; Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.34 mi NW.
How Cañones ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 7th | 17th | 22nd | 51st |
| New Mexico | 17th | 12th | 42nd | 34th |
| Southern Rockies | 4th | 52nd | 3rd | 20th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 83% 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.
The national forage map around Cañones: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Abiquiu 6 mi · Youngsville 8 mi · Coyote 11 mi · Medanales 13 mi · Chili 16 mi · El Rito 17 mi
All towns in New Mexico · 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 Cañones (36.1764, -106.4194); 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.