Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see which bee plants and crops are within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more), when the honey flow comes and when there's a dearth, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

The colors are the national forage map: every square kilometer of the lower 48, scored the same way. See the honey flow for your state and town, the best and worst spots we found, or how the scoring works.

Forage report for 34.2543, -106.9025

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 47th percentile (spring 70th, summer 42nd, fall 46th)
  • New Mexico: 96th percentile (spring 95th, summer 83rd, fall 28th)
  • Chihuahuan Deserts: 95th percentile (spring 89th, summer 99th, fall 46th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across New Mexico, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jul 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Rabbitbrush, Garden flowers, Green/yellow rabbitbrush; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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. Honey composition is a nectar-source estimate, not a pollen analysis. Benchmark 2026.5. How this works.