Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 41.5447, -90.2237

Estimated forage here is better than about 18% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (73rd percentile) and lowest in summer (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (right here, 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.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 90th, fall 37th)
  • Illinois: 18th percentile (spring 53rd, summer 29th, fall 73rd)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 29th percentile (spring 27th, summer 47th, fall 72nd)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 2,924 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 541 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 346 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 168 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3,948 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 589 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.