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 37.0168, -98.4849

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in fall (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.3 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 76th, summer 72nd, fall 23rd)
  • Kansas: 59th percentile (spring 86th, summer 41st, fall 18th)
  • Southwestern Tablelands: 98th percentile (spring 94th, summer 97th, fall 7th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Canola
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 204 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 129 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Canola; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Cotton; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 47% 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.