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 38.2458, -104.4607

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in Colorado. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Colorado sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: pumpkins (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.28 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 60th, summer 88th, fall 98th)
  • Colorado: 100th percentile (spring 95th, summer 100th, fall 97th)
  • Southwestern Tablelands: 100th percentile (spring 70th, summer 100th, fall 100th)

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15 — Alfalfa, Pumpkins
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 30 — Pumpkins
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Pumpkins: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Oct
  • Corn: about 159 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Pumpkins: about 258 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Oct
  • Corn: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 178 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.