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 40.4767, -104.9144

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.35 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 74th, summer 77th, fall 75th)
  • Colorado: 98th percentile (spring 99th, summer 84th, fall 53rd)
  • High Plains: 95th percentile (spring 97th, summer 80th, fall 72nd)

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 Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 132 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 232 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 278 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 70% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.