Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 40.3721, -89.8336

Estimated forage here is better than about 31% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); popcorn and ornamental corn (nearest 0.3 mi N). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 54th, summer 90th, fall 62nd)
  • Illinois: 31st percentile (spring 67th, summer 29th, fall 94th)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 23rd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 18th, 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 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 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 8,033 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3,927 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 235 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Popcorn and ornamental corn: about 200 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 1,234 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Popcorn and ornamental corn: about 208 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 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); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Sunflower, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Pumpkins, Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.