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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 38.3359, -90.4011

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 91st, summer 57th, fall 56th)
  • Missouri: 30th percentile (spring 80th, summer 28th, fall 72nd)
  • Ozark Highlands: 62nd percentile (spring 61st, summer 68th, fall 57th)

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)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,316 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 531 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 768 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.