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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 40.7367, -91.0607

Estimated forage here is better than about 10% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (61st percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.36 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 39th, summer 89th, fall 26th)
  • Illinois: 10th percentile (spring 51st, summer 24th, fall 61st)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 20th percentile (spring 24th, summer 41st, fall 54th)

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 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 5,942 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,194 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 165 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 173 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; 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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; 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.