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 37.1038, -96.5026

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.32 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 95th, summer 70th, fall 67th)
  • Kansas: 77th percentile (spring 98th, summer 37th, fall 72nd)
  • Flint Hills: 83rd percentile (spring 100th, summer 47th, fall 18th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, 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), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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.