Arcadia Bees
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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 40.2956, -90.0572

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); popcorn and ornamental corn (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.53 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 69th, summer 87th, fall 56th)
  • Illinois: 21st percentile (spring 84th, summer 18th, fall 91st)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 16th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 12th, fall 85th)

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 Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,088 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,223 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,086 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,814 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 359 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,190 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% 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.