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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 40.8715, -93.7927

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.23 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 80th, summer 88th, fall 62nd)
  • Iowa: 40th percentile (spring 97th, summer 17th, fall 92nd)
  • Central Irregular Plains: 69th percentile (spring 54th, summer 59th, fall 94th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,488 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 270 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,261 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 175 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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