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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 38.5154, -89.9901

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (5th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.5 mi S, grown 3 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: 76th percentile (spring 84th, summer 73rd, fall 54th)
  • Illinois: 7th percentile (spring 94th, summer 5th, fall 90th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 14th percentile (spring 86th, summer 14th, fall 95th)

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
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 356 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,831 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 177 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 304 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 290 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 529 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 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, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans; 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 100% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.