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 41.5576, -99.2439

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi S); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 67th percentile (spring 50th, summer 79th, fall 77th)
  • Nebraska: 57th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 52nd, fall 55th)
  • Central Great Plains: 72nd percentile (spring 50th, summer 69th, fall 89th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,294 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 239 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 347 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 399 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 912 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing 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.