Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 42.1230, -89.2665

Estimated forage here is better than about 16% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.12 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 75th, summer 84th, fall 66th)
  • Illinois: 16th percentile (spring 88th, summer 13th, fall 95th)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 12th percentile (spring 94th, summer 10th, fall 92nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,573 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 508 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 741 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 261 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,763 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 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), Soybeans; extra 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, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 53% 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.