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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.

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 41.9138, -86.0080

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in summer (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (63rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi W). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.42 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 74th, summer 87th, fall 61st)
  • Michigan: 85th percentile (spring 77th, summer 78th, fall 63rd)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 68th percentile (spring 85th, summer 47th, fall 56th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 603 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4,189 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,755 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,353 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,465 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 604 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 54% 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.