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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 39.7526, -90.6064

Estimated forage here is better than about 48% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in spring (59th percentile) and lowest in summer (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, 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. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 92nd percentile (spring 46th, summer 94th, fall 24th)
  • Illinois: 48th percentile (spring 59th, summer 46th, fall 57th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 63rd percentile (spring 33rd, summer 66th, fall 50th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,340 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,008 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 3,239 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 2,171 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 264 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 322 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.