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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 38.4569, -90.2151

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.14 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 88th, summer 86th, fall 48th)
  • Illinois: 37th percentile (spring 97th, summer 16th, fall 85th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 51st percentile (spring 91st, summer 29th, fall 88th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 959 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,069 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,925 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,226 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 76% 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.