Honey bee forage in Pine Ridge, South Dakota

When is the honey flow in Pine Ridge?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking early May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), buckwheat, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Pine Ridge, 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 12.

What the honey is made of

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

• Buckwheat: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Oct (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Millet: about 331 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 2 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 Pine Ridge

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Northwestern Great Plains-Black Hills Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna; Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Herbaceous.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.18 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.2 mi N.

How Pine Ridge ranks

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

About 59% 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

Wounded Knee 12 mi · Oglala 14 mi · Manderson-White Horse Creek 15 mi · Porcupine 20 mi · Batesland 24 mi · Kyle 33 mi

All towns in South Dakota · 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 Pine Ridge (43.0269, -102.5524); 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.