Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 38.5436, -92.3652

Estimated forage here is better than about 38% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (76th percentile) and lowest in summer (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.11 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 89th, summer 68th, fall 49th)
  • Missouri: 38th percentile (spring 76th, summer 43rd, fall 52nd)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 15th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 12th, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.