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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 37.4611, -89.2376

Estimated forage here is better than about 11% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (4th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 94th, summer 68th, fall 39th)
  • Illinois: 11th percentile (spring 99th, summer 4th, fall 76th)
  • Interior Plateau: 72nd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 67th, fall 67th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 255 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 101 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.