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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 40.9641, -91.1618

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in spring (52nd percentile) and lowest in fall (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 28th, summer 95th, fall 24th)
  • Iowa: 45th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 48th, fall 42nd)
  • Western Corn Belt Plains: 36th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 40th, fall 37th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 507 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3,349 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 696 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5,464 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 1,481 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 570 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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