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 42.1870, -86.2598
Estimated forage here is better than about 75% 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 0.7 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); blueberries (nearest 0.4 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 79th, fall 72nd)
- Michigan: 75th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 65th, fall 81st)
- Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 43rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 24th, fall 79th)
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 Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
- Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Soybeans: about 242 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
- Corn: about 282 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
- Corn: about 205 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
- Blueberries: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May
- Blueberries: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Blueberries; 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; light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 59% 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. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% of surveyed US acres (2025); Apples: 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.
- 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.