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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 41.2377, -89.9235

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi W). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.33 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 76th, summer 88th, fall 66th)
  • Illinois: 37th percentile (spring 89th, summer 21st, fall 95th)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 29th percentile (spring 95th, summer 14th, fall 92nd)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 6,957 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 10,801 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 305 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 984 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 91% 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.