Honey bee forage in Stanley, New Mexico

When is the honey flow in Stanley?

• First forage: Mar 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers, dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Sep 30, peaking early May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), native wildflowers)
• Fall flow: Oct 16 to Oct 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Stanley, 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 28.

What the honey is made of

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

• Sorghum: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug (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 Stanley

Mostly: Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie; Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe; Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns).

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi N; pond, lake or river 0.78 mi NW.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Stanley ranks

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

About 86% 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

Cedar Grove 11 mi · Moriarty 11 mi · San Pedro 13 mi · Edgewood 14 mi · Thunder Mountain 14 mi · Indian Hills 15 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 Stanley (35.1542, -105.9763); 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.