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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 37.2416, -89.2718

Estimated forage here is better than about 95% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 98th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 91st, fall 21st)
  • Illinois: 95th percentile (spring 98th, summer 34th, fall 52nd)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 97th percentile (spring 96th, summer 54th, fall 42nd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Illinois, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 5,084 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3,811 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 121 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 253 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.