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 41.6073, -90.1731

Estimated forage here is better than about 35% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 59th, summer 91st, fall 44th)
  • Illinois: 35th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 31st, fall 82nd)
  • Interior River Valleys and Hills: 48th percentile (spring 50th, summer 49th, fall 83rd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,870 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 482 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2,632 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3,800 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4,707 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.