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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 42.0976, -83.2720

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.8 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 79th, summer 78th, fall 74th)
  • Michigan: 69th percentile (spring 87th, summer 62nd, fall 83rd)
  • Huron/Erie Lake Plains: 19th percentile (spring 94th, summer 14th, 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 168 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 561 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 878 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 78% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.