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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 39.5282, -104.8265

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 (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 3.1 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 71st, summer 70th, fall 82nd)
  • Colorado: 93rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 67th, fall 65th)
  • High Plains: 89th percentile (spring 94th, summer 61st, fall 81st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 63% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A, AE) 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.