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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 37.4768, -105.8380

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (68th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 59th, summer 76th, fall 83rd)
  • Colorado: 92nd percentile (spring 95th, summer 81st, fall 68th)
  • Arizona/New Mexico Plateau: 98th percentile (spring 97th, summer 98th, fall 83rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Willows, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Alfalfa, Willows, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Willows, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Native wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Willows, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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.