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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 42.1072, -84.2493

Estimated forage here is better than about 78% 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 E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 84th, fall 71st)
  • Michigan: 78th percentile (spring 75th, summer 72nd, fall 78th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 50th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 37th, fall 76th)

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: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 457 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 514 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 510 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.