Honey bee forage in Chugwater, Wyoming

When is the honey flow in Chugwater?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking late May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Chugwater, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on May 16.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Sorghum: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Chugwater

Mostly: Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Grassland; Central Mixedgrass Prairie Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.24 mi S.

How Chugwater ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 79% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Slater 9 mi · Whiting 19 mi · Y-O Ranch 20 mi · Chugcreek 21 mi · Wheatland 22 mi · Lakeview North 25 mi

All towns in Wyoming · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Chugwater (41.7557, -104.8229); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.