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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 40.1499, -91.5043

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (54th percentile) and lowest in summer (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 35th, summer 88th, fall 22nd)
  • Illinois: 7th percentile (spring 46th, summer 21st, fall 54th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 14th percentile (spring 20th, summer 37th, fall 45th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4,971 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 5,581 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 683 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 469 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.