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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 41.0846, -92.5287

Estimated forage here is better than about 15% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.1 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 56th, summer 88th, fall 48th)
  • Iowa: 15th percentile (spring 78th, summer 18th, fall 71st)
  • Central Irregular Plains: 28th percentile (spring 16th, summer 62nd, fall 68th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 380 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 269 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 147 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.