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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 39.6817, -87.4146

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Indiana. Against other Indiana sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 4 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: 90th percentile (spring 94th, summer 85th, fall 55th)
  • Indiana: 51st percentile (spring 98th, summer 24th, fall 92nd)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 58th percentile (spring 98th, summer 26th, fall 96th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Indiana, 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 Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,824 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,651 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 472 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,385 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 1,165 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 179 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, 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, 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; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.