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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 39.2495, -88.1614

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 84th, summer 87th, fall 49th)
  • Illinois: 40th percentile (spring 94th, summer 19th, fall 86th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 56th percentile (spring 87th, summer 34th, fall 90th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,737 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,254 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 1,955 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 166 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,532 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

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, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

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.