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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 41.4826, -90.4917

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (5th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.0 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi S, grown 2 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 84th, summer 72nd, fall 73rd)
  • Illinois: 7th percentile (spring 94th, summer 5th, fall 97th)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 15th percentile (spring 87th, summer 13th, fall 100th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early 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, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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 94% 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.