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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.

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 38.4467, -87.9979

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (77th percentile) and lowest in fall (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.19 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 98th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 96th, fall 11th)
  • Illinois: 97th percentile (spring 77th, summer 63rd, fall 31st)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 97th percentile (spring 56th, summer 82nd, fall 18th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 13,007 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 7,710 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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