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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 40.6851, -92.9809

Estimated forage here is better than about 19% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (9th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 81st, summer 84th, fall 61st)
  • Iowa: 19th percentile (spring 97th, summer 9th, fall 90th)
  • Central Irregular Plains: 37th percentile (spring 57th, summer 41st, fall 93rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 705 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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