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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.

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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 41.0081, -81.5407

Estimated forage here is better than about 11% of sites in Ohio. Against other Ohio sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 3.0 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 75th, summer 65th, fall 68th)
  • Ohio: 11th percentile (spring 55th, summer 26th, fall 96th)
  • Erie Drift Plain: 36th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 23rd, fall 89th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.