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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 38.4260, -90.3682

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.9 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: 80th percentile (spring 95th, summer 63rd, fall 57th)
  • Missouri: 44th percentile (spring 91st, summer 37th, fall 75th)
  • Ozark Highlands: 82nd percentile (spring 79th, summer 83rd, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 314 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 778 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 176 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 762 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 82% 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.