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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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.

Forage report for 38.0147, -98.8723

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in Kansas. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Kansas sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.3 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 14th percentile (spring 20th, summer 51st, fall 10th)
  • Kansas: 0th percentile (spring 3rd, summer 6th, fall 4th)
  • Central Great Plains: 1st percentile (spring 8th, summer 37th, fall 13th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 249 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Canola: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 56% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.