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 36.7475, -104.0019

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in New Mexico. Against other New Mexico sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.21 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 37th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 56th, fall 89th)
  • New Mexico: 93rd percentile (spring 54th, summer 95th, fall 97th)
  • Southwestern Tablelands: 69th percentile (spring 11th, summer 88th, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Sep 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Oct 16 to Oct 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.