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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 38.5385, -90.2406

Estimated forage here is better than about 32% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (72nd percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 58th, summer 90th, fall 25th)
  • Illinois: 32nd percentile (spring 72nd, summer 30th, fall 59th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 46th percentile (spring 49th, summer 48th, fall 53rd)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,666 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 268 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 673 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 540 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,098 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 370 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.