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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 41.9779, -84.6659

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in Michigan. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Michigan sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi E). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 88th, fall 67th)
  • Michigan: 89th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 80th, fall 73rd)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 76th percentile (spring 80th, summer 52nd, fall 69th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,701 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 493 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,284 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 306 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • 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, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 55% 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.