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 39.0089, -87.7312

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, 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: 91st percentile (spring 88th, summer 87th, fall 52nd)
  • Illinois: 44th percentile (spring 96th, summer 19th, fall 89th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 60th percentile (spring 91st, summer 34th, fall 94th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,956 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4,724 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 2,651 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 504 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 346 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 84% 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.