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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 38.5435, -89.6164

Estimated forage here is better than about 65% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.18 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 95th percentile (spring 79th, summer 91st, fall 32nd)
  • Illinois: 65th percentile (spring 91st, summer 33rd, fall 68th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 79th percentile (spring 80th, summer 53rd, fall 64th)

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 3,914 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,965 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4,946 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3,458 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 323 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.