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 41.6187, -99.8637

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in fall (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.2 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 45th, summer 85th, fall 68th)
  • Nebraska: 62nd percentile (spring 86th, summer 61st, fall 47th)
  • Nebraska Sand Hills: 97th percentile (spring 90th, summer 96th, fall 4th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 428 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,153 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 138 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 310 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late 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, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; 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.