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Bee forage check

How good is this spot for honey bees?

Enter an address or tap the map. You'll see what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, nearby water, a few things worth checking, and how the spot ranks against random sites in your state and across the country.

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Forage report for 34.8241, -106.7033

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it stands out most in spring (100th percentile) and lowest in fall (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.1 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 97th, summer 63rd, fall 27th)
  • New Mexico: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 97th, fall 12th)
  • Arizona/New Mexico Plateau: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 97th, fall 10th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 50% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.