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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 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.

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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 37.0155, -98.6495

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (55th percentile) and lowest in summer (below the 1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: sorghum (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 2.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.29 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 23rd percentile (spring 52nd, summer 39th, fall 30th)
  • Kansas: 0th percentile (spring 55th, summer 0th, fall 25th)
  • Central Great Plains: 6th percentile (spring 55th, summer 26th, fall 30th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sorghum: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 124 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 107 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Sorghum: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Canola: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms early May – late Jun
  • Sorghum: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 53% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).

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.