Arcadia Bees
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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.

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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 40.1227, -102.7144

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (23rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.22 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 66th, summer 77th, fall 56th)
  • Colorado: 93rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 83rd, fall 23rd)
  • High Plains: 89th percentile (spring 90th, summer 79th, fall 46th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 995 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Corn: about 672 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Corn: about 1,923 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Corn: about 564 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.