Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 37.6226, -88.7039

Estimated forage here is better than about 25% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (11th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 91st, summer 81st, fall 25th)
  • Illinois: 25th percentile (spring 98th, summer 11th, fall 58th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 36th percentile (spring 94th, summer 21st, fall 52nd)

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: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 191 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 225 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 125 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; extra light amber

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.