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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.

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 38.0721, -104.9810

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in fall (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.13 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 47th percentile (spring 50th, summer 68th, fall 52nd)
  • Colorado: 71st percentile (spring 86th, summer 63rd, fall 18th)
  • Southern Rockies: 74th percentile (spring 99th, summer 54th, fall 22nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Alfalfa; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.