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 38.6437, -96.2580

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 66th, summer 65th, fall 95th)
  • Kansas: 57th percentile (spring 80th, summer 25th, fall 97th)
  • Flint Hills: 37th percentile (spring 67th, summer 38th, fall 78th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Native wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 154 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.