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 35.5702, -106.3297

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it stands out most in summer (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (67th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.16 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 32nd percentile (spring 52nd, summer 42nd, fall 73rd)
  • New Mexico: 89th percentile (spring 75th, summer 84th, fall 67th)
  • Arizona/New Mexico Plateau: 94th percentile (spring 94th, summer 92nd, fall 63rd)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Weedy mustards
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Oct 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Green/yellow rabbitbrush, Rubber rabbitbrush
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.