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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 38.2493, -104.5711

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (39th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); pumpkins (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.12 mi NE. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 77th, summer 68th, fall 66th)
  • Colorado: 93rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 63rd, fall 39th)
  • Southwestern Tablelands: 98th percentile (spring 95th, summer 96th, fall 32nd)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Pumpkins: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); Squash: insecticides used on about 71% 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.

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.