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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 38.2497, -89.7720

Estimated forage here is better than about 20% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 67th, summer 87th, fall 26th)
  • Illinois: 20th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 18th, fall 60th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 31st percentile (spring 63rd, summer 34th, fall 54th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,183 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 153 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,640 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 2,146 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.