Honey bee forage in Carmen, Oklahoma

When is the honey flow in Carmen?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, dandelion)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Carmen, 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 4.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), garden flowers; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Canola: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, 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 Carmen

Mostly: Winter Wheat; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.24 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.35 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 65% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Carmen ranks

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

Nearby

Aline 5 mi · Lambert 7 mi · Dacoma 8 mi · Helena 11 mi · Cleo Springs 12 mi · Cherokee 13 mi

All towns in Oklahoma · 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 Carmen (36.5791, -98.4579); 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.