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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 41.4521, -90.1557

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.47 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 68th, summer 90th, fall 57th)
  • Illinois: 44th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 29th, fall 92nd)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 35th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 19th, fall 86th)

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: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,118 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,613 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,556 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,049 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4,083 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 167 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Lindens / basswood; 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 73% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.