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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 38.7166, -90.4707

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Missouri. Against other Missouri sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 2 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: 80th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 71st, fall 51st)
  • Missouri: 44th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 45th, fall 59th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 19th percentile (spring 95th, summer 13th, fall 93rd)

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)
  • 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 140 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 253 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 135 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 357 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 100 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, 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, 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 67% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.