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 41.3119, -81.8311

Estimated forage here is better than about 31% of sites in Ohio. Against other Ohio sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.7 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.9 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 73rd, fall 74th)
  • Ohio: 31st percentile (spring 63rd, summer 33rd, fall 98th)
  • Erie Drift Plain: 54th percentile (spring 85th, summer 39th, fall 95th)

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 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 92% 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.