Honey Bee Food Sources — MiteCalculator.com

Wild Flowers for Honey Bees in the Central United States

Area of the US Midwest with similar flowers and bloom times to those shown below (map source: nationalatlas.gov)

Below is a collection of bloom times for some of the wildflowers used by pollinators in the American Midwest. Included are wild-growing plants that provide some sustenance to western honey bees (apis mellifera). Their importance as nectar and pollen sources varies greatly, as does their density of distribution. Some of these flowers would only be worked when little other forage is available. I’ve withheld any plants that are predominantly used in domestic landscapes. This list is in no way exhaustive—it only includes my personal observations, so if I haven’t seen and identified a flower myself, it’s not shown here.

The map above shows the approximate area of reference, centered on Missouri. Beekeepers in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Tennessee may encounter a similar selection of flowers. Based on bloom dates reported by other beekeepers in the region, for every 100 miles south of St Louis the bloom times will be about 1-2 weeks earlier, and for every 100 miles north of St Louis it will be about 1-2 weeks later. St Louis city itself also sees blooms earlier than what’s shown below, because the temperatures are consistently warmer there. I do the best I can to identify flowers being used by honey bees, but I’m not a botanist—if you see a mistake or an obvious omission, please let me know by sending a message through the Contact page.

January

Hamamelis vernalis, Ozark witch hazel flowers in bloom — Ozark Witch Hazel

**Blooms in mid-January**
Status in Missouri: Native

February

Alnus, Alder tree catkins flowering — Alder

**Blooms in mid-February**
Status in Missouri: Native

Acer saccharinum, silver maple tree flowers in bloom along a river — Silver Maple

**Blooms in mid-February**
Status in Missouri: Native

Crocus flowers in bloom with honey bee foraging for nectar or pollen — Crocus

**Blooms in late February**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

March

Corylus americana, American hazelnut catkins flowers — Hazelnut

**Blooms in early March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Ulmus americana, American elm tree flowers in bloom — Elm

**Blooms in early March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Lindera benzoin, northern spicebush shrub flowers in bloom — Spicebush

**Blooms in early March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Acer rubrum, red maple tree flowers in bloom — Red Maple

**Blooms in mid-March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Cardamine concatenata, cut-leaf or cutleaf or cut-leaved toothwort flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Cutleaf Toothwort

**Blooms in mid-to-late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Pyrus calleryana, Bradford or callery pear flowers in bloom — Bradford (Callery) Pear

**Blooms in mid-to-late March**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Wild Plum*

Lamium purpureum, red deadnettle or purple deadnettle flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Purple Deadnettle

**Blooms in mid-to-late March**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Lamium amplexicaule, henbit deadnettle flowers in bloom — Henbit

**Blooms in mid-to-late March**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Salix discolor, pussy willow tree flowers in bloom — Pussy Willow

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Acer negundo, boxelder or box elder maple flowers starting to bloom — Boxelder Maple

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

purple phlox flowers in bloom with a honey bee foraging for nectar or pollen — Phlox

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Filaree

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Phlox*

Rhus aromatica, fragrant sumac flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Fragrant Sumac

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Amelanchier arbor, common serviceberry or downy serviceberry flowers in bloom — Serviceberry

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

Muscari, grape hyacinth flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Grape Hyacinth

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Mertensia virginica, virginia bluebell flowers in bloom — Virginia Bluebell

**Blooms in late March**
Status in Missouri: Native

April

Prunus americana, wild plum or American plum flowers in bloom with a honey bee foraging for nectar or pollen — Wild Plum

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *I consider the plum bloom to be the unofficial start of the spring nectar flow here. Honey bees will have a lot of choices for forage from now through June.*

Antennaria neglecta, field pussytoes flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Pussytoes

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Taraxacum, dandelion flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Dandelion

**Blooms in large numbers in early April**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Cercis canadensis, eastern redbud tree flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Redbud

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Acer saccharum, sugar maple tree flowers in bloom — Sugar Maple

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Barbarea vulgaris, yellow rocket flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Yellow Rocket

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Elaeagnus umbellata, autumn olive or Russian olive shrub flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Autumn Olive

**Blooms in early April**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Ninebark*

Packera glabella, butterweed flowers in bloom — Butterweed

**Blooms in early-to-mid-April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Salix nigra, Black willow tree flowers with a foraging honey bee — Black Willow

**Blooms in early-to-mid-April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Malus, crabapple or crab apple tree flowers in bloom — Crabapple

**Blooms in mid-April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Syringa, lilac tree flowers in bloom — Lilac

**Blooms in mid-April**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized
Beekeeper note: *Mostly used by longer-tongued pollinators, but the shorter flowers on some lilacs are likely accessible by honey bees.*

Camassia scilloides, wild hyacinth or Atlantic camas flowers in bloom with foraging honey bees — Wild Hyacinth

**Blooms in mid-to-late April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Oxalis stricta, yellow wood sorrel or yellow woodsorrel flowers in bloom — Yellow Woodsorrel

**Blooms in late April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Viburnum prunifolium, blackhaw flowers in bloom with a foraging native bee — Blackhaw

**Blooms in late April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Zizia aurea, golden alexanders flowers — Golden Alexanders

**Blooms in late April**
Status in Missouri: Native

Trifolium repens, white clover flowers with a foraging small blue butterfly — White Clover

**Blooms in late April**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized
Beekeeper note: *White clover is worked hard during the peak of our nectar flow from mid-May through mid-June.*

Prunus serotina, wild black cherry tree flowers in bloom — Black Cherry

**Blooms in late April**
Status in Missouri: Native

May

Trifolium incarnatum, crimson clover flowers in bloom with a foraging bumble bee — Crimson Clover

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

wild blackberry flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Blackberry

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Ilex decidua, possumhaw or deciduous holly flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Possumhaw

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Liriodendron tulipifera, tulip poplar tree flower in bloom — Tulip Poplar

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Spiderwort

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Gleditsia triacanthos, honey locust tree flowers, probably spent or at the end of their viability period — Honey Locust

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Robinia pseudoacacia, black locust tree flowers in bloom — Black Locust

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *Known as perhaps the greatest potential nectar source in our region, the quality of the black locust bloom has a major impact on the quality of our honey flow.*

Rubus occidentalis, wild black raspberry flowers in bloom with a foraging ant — Black Raspberry

**Blooms in early May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Monarda, bee balm or beebalm flowers in bloom — Bee Balm

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Physocarpus, ninebark flowers in bloom — Ninebark

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Trifolium campestre, hop clover or hop trefoil in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Hop Clover

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Cladrastis kentukea, Kentucky yellowwood or yellow-wood with a native bee foraging its flowers — Kentucky Yellowwood

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Leucanthemum vulgare, oxeye daisy or ox-eye daisy in bloom — Oxeye Daisy

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Asclepias quadrifolia, fourleaf milkweed or four-leaved milkweed in bloom — Fourleaf Milkweed

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Rosa multiflora, multiflora rose flowers in bloom — Multiflora Rose

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Prairie Rose*

Achillea millefolium, yarrow or common yarrow flowers with a foraging honey bee — Yarrow

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Coreopsis lanceolata, lanceleaf coreopsis, lanceleaf tickseed, lance-leaved coreopsis flowers with a foraging pollinator — Lanceleaf Coreopsis

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Erigeron, fleabane flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Fleabane

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Toxicodendron radicans, eastern poison ivy flowers in bloom — Poison Ivy

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Melilotus officinalis, yellow sweet clover flowers with a foraging honey bee — Yellow Sweet Clover

**Blooms in mid-May**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Purple Prairie Clover*

Apocynum, dogbane or Indian hemp flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Dogbane

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Asclepias viridis, green milkweed or green antelope horn milkweed flowers in bloom with a foraging carpenter bee — Green Antelopehorn Milkweed

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Coreopsis pubescens, star tickseed flower in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Star Tickseed

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Rosa arkansana, wild prairie rose flower in bloom — Prairie Rose

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Catalpa tree flowers in bloom — Catalpa

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Ligustrum vulgare, wild privet flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Wild Privet

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Fragrant Sumac*

Centaurea cyanus cornflower or bachelor's button flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Cornflower

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Medicago sativa, alfalfa flowers in bloom — Alfalfa

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Diospyros, persimmon flowers with a foraging honey bee — Persimmon

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Prunella vulgaris, self-heal flower in bloom — Self-Heal

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

Lotus corniculatus, birdsfoot trefoil or bird’s foot trefoil flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Birdsfoot Trefoil

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Coreopsis*

Asclepias purpurascens, purple milkweed flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Purple Milkweed

**Blooms in late May**
Status in Missouri: Native

June

Rhus glabra, smooth sumac flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Smooth Sumac

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Echinacea purpurea, purple coneflower flowers in bloom with a foraging butterfly — Coneflower

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Daucus carota, queen anne’s lace or wild carrot flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee and fly — Queen Anne’s Lace

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Sambucus, black elderberry flowers in bloom — Elderberry

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Blephilia ciliata, ohio horsemint flowers in bloom — Ohio Horsemint

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Frangula caroliniana, carolina buckthorn flowers in bloom — Carolina Buckthorn

**Blooms in early June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Asclepias syriaca, common milkweed flowers in bloom — Common Milkweed

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Rudbeckia hirta black-eyed Susan flower in bloom with a foraging bee — Black-Eyed Susan

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Impatiens capensis, orange jewelweed, common jewelweed, spotted jewelweed, jewelweed, spotted touch-me-not, or orange balsam flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Jewelweed

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Cosmos flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Cosmos

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Hydrangea arborescens, wild hydrangea flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Wild Hydrangea

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Gaillardia pulchella, indian blanket flower in bloom — Indian Blanket

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Malva, mallow flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Mallow

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Melilotus albus, white sweetclover flowers in bloom — White Sweet Clover

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: White Prairie Clover*

Verbascum thapsus, great mullein flowers in bloom with foraging honey bee — Great Mullein

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Scrophularia marilandica, late figwort flowers in bloom with foraging honey bee — Late Figwort

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *Its tiny, bucket-like flower fills with nectar the honey bees and other pollinators—including hummingbirds—can’t resist.*

Asclepias tuberosa, butterfly weed flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Butterfly Weed (Milkweed)

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Koelreuteria paniculata, golden rain tree flowers in bloom — Golden Rain Tree

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Blackhaw*

Campsis, trumpet vine flowers in bloom — Trumpet Vine

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Cichorium intybus, chicory flowers in bloom with a foraging bee — Chicory

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Coreopsis tinctoria, Plains coreopsis, garden tickseed, golden tickseed, or calliopsis flower in bloom — Plains Coreopsis

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Tilia americana, American basswood tree flowers in bloom with a foraging bumble bee — American Basswood

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *If I could only choose one bee tree, it would be the American basswood.*

Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, narrowleaf mountainmint, slender mountainmint flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Slender Mountain Mint

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *Just after the main flow in early July, it’s not unusual to see dozens of honey bees working a single mountain mint shrub.*

Hypericum prolificum, shrubby St. John's wort flowers in bloom — St. John’s Wort

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native and Naturalized (depending on species)

Monarda fistulosa, wild bergamot flowers in bloom — Wild Bergamot

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Native

Allium vineale, wild garlic flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Wild Garlic

**Blooms in mid-June**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Teucrium canadense, American germander or wood sage flowers in bloom with a foraging bumblebee — American Germander

**Blooms in late June**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *American germander flowers are massively popular with bumble bees.*

Helianthus annuus, common sunflower flower in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Common Sunflower

**Blooms in late June**
Status in Missouri: Native

July

Hibiscus syriacus, rose of Sharon flower in bloom during a rain shower — Rose of Sharon

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Silphium laciniatum, compass plant flowers in bloom — Compass Plant

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Pycnanthemum pilosum, hairy mountain mint flowers in bloom — Hairy Mountain Mint

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Arctium, burdock flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Burdock

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Field Thistle*

Early Goldenrods

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Vernonia, ironweed flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Ironweed

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Rhus copallinum, winged sumac flowers in bloom with three foraging honey bees — Winged Sumac

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Eryngium yuccifolium, rattlesnake master flowers — Rattlesnake Master

**Blooms in early July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Liatris pycnostachya, prairie blazing star flowers in bloom — Blazing Star

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Asclepias hirtella, tall green milkweed flowers in bloom — Tall Green Milkweed

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Sideroxylon lanuginosum, gum bumelia flowers — Gum Bumelia

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Croton capitatus, or hogwort or goatweed or wooly croton flowers with a foraging honey bee — Hogwort

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Helianthus divaricatus, woodland sunflower flower in bloom — Woodland Sunflower

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Euphorbia marginata, snow-on-the-mountain flowers in bloom — Snow-on-the-Mountain

**Blooms in mid-July**
Status in Missouri: Native

Cirsium discolor, field thistle flower in bloom with a foraging bumble bee — Thistle

**Blooms in late July**
Status in Missouri: Native and Invasive (depending on species)

Chamaecrista fasciculata, partridge pea flowers in bloom — Partridge Pea

**Blooms in late July**
Status in Missouri: Native

August

Ageratina altissima, white snakeroot flowers in bloom woith a foraging honey bee — White Snakeroot

**Blooms in early August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Elephantopus carolinianus, elephant’s foot flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Elephant’s Foot

**Blooms in early August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Spanish needles flowers (bidens bipinnata), with yellow petals in bloom — Spanish Needles

**Blooms in early August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Eutrochium purpureum, joe-pye weed flowers in bloom — Joe Pye Weed

**Blooms in early August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Desmodium, tick trefoil or tick-trefoil flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Ticktrefoil

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Grindelia, gumweed flower in bloom — Gumweed

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Oenothera biennis, evening primrose flower in bloom — Evening Primrose

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Allium schoenoprasum, or garlic chives flowers with a foraging honey bee — Garlic Chives

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Naturalized

Gaura, beeblossom or bee blossom flowers in bloom with a small insect perched on a flower — Beeblossom

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Verbesina alternifolia, wing stem or yellow ironweed flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Wingstem

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Silphium terebinthinaceum, prairie dock flower in bloom — Prairie Dock

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Conoclinium coelestinum, blue mistflower flowers in bloom — Blue Mistflower

**Blooms in mid-August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, new england aster flowers in bloom — New England Aster

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Eupatorium serotinum, late boneset or late thoroughwort flowers in bloom — Late Boneset

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Polygonum pensylvanicum, pink weed or Pennsylvania smartweed flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Pinkweed

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Allium stellatum, prairie onion flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Prairie Onion

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Clematis terniflora, sweet autumn clamatis flowers in bloom — Sweet Autumn Clematis

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Woodbine*

Lespedeza cuneata, Chinese bushclover or sericea lespedeza flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Chinese Bush Clover

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Invasive
*Native alternative: Violet Bush Clover (see below)*

Liatris scariosa, savanna blazing star flowers in bloom — Savanna Blazing Star

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

Bidens polylepis, tickseed sunflower flowers in bloom with a foraging bee-mimic fly — Tickseed Sunflower

**Blooms in late August**
Status in Missouri: Native

September

Lespedeza stuevei, tall bushclover flowers in bloom — Bush Clover

**Blooms in early September**
Status in Missouri: Native

Solidago, a species of late-blooming field goldenrod flowers in bloom with a foraging bumble bee — Late Goldenrods

**Blooms in early September**
Status in Missouri: Native

Symphyotrichum ericoides, white aster flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — White Aster

**Blooms in mid-September**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *Aster species are challenging to identify, so I’m lumping some white asters together.*

Symphyotrichum anomalum, manyray or many-rayed aster flowers in bloom — Purple Aster

**Blooms in mid-September**
Status in Missouri: Native
Beekeeper note: *Aster species are challenging to identify, so I’m lumping the purple-blue asters together.*

Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, calico aster flowers in bloom with a foraging honey bee — Calico Aster

**Blooms in late September**
Status in Missouri: Native

November

Hamamelis virginiana, common witch hazel flowers in bloom — Common Witch Hazel

**Blooms in early November**
Status in Missouri: Native

All of the pictures above are my own, unless noted otherwise.