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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 39.0847, -108.6538

Estimated forage here is better than about 94% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (100th percentile) and lowest in fall (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peaches (nearest 0.5 mi SW). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 80th, summer 66th, fall 68th)
  • Colorado: 94th percentile (spring 100th, summer 58th, fall 41st)
  • Colorado Plateaus: 99th percentile (spring 100th, summer 92nd, fall 84th)

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: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 64% 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. Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.