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 36.5435, -93.6209
Estimated forage here is better than about 13% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (60th percentile) and lowest in summer (15th). Biggest nearby bee crops: watermelons (nearest 2.3 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 42nd, fall 42nd)
- Missouri: 13th percentile (spring 60th, summer 15th, fall 39th)
- Ozark Highlands: 27th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 38th, fall 17th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Missouri, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
- Season ends: Oct 31
Bee crops nearby
- Watermelons: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Sep
- Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
- Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.