Honey bee forage in Watonga, Oklahoma

When is the honey flow in Watonga?

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

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Watonga, 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 Mar 31.

What the honey is made of

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

• Canola: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late May – 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 Watonga

Mostly: Winter Wheat; Great Plains Comanchian Ruderal Grassland; Western Great Plains Sand Prairie.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.55 mi SE; pond, lake or river 0.74 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 40% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

How Watonga ranks

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

About 30% 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

Greenfield 8 mi · Hitchcock 9 mi · Eagle City 12 mi · Fay 15 mi · Geary 15 mi · Canton 18 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 Watonga (35.8475, -98.4027); 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.