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 39.4509, -97.5305

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Kansas. Against other Kansas sites it stands out most in summer (84th percentile) and lowest in spring (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 42nd, summer 89th, fall 53rd)
  • Kansas: 73rd percentile (spring 25th, summer 84th, fall 53rd)
  • Central Great Plains: 84th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 84th, fall 53rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,503 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,010 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 916 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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