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.
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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 42.0136, -86.5254
Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 1.0 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.36 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 79th, fall 77th)
- Michigan: 77th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 65th, fall 86th)
- Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 47th percentile (spring 95th, summer 24th, fall 87th)
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: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Soybeans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
- Soybeans: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
- Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
- Corn: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
- Corn: about 1,159 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 151 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 64% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
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.