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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 38.0622, -102.3102

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi NW); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 77th, fall 62nd)
  • Colorado: 96th percentile (spring 99th, summer 84th, fall 31st)
  • Southwestern Tablelands: 99th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 98th, fall 28th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 164 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 101 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Sorghum: about 321 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 492 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 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), Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

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.