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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 42.2448, -84.7574

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in Michigan. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Michigan sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.1 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 77th, summer 85th, fall 72nd)
  • Michigan: 82nd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 74th, fall 79th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 60th percentile (spring 88th, summer 40th, fall 77th)

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 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,162 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,764 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 275 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,154 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 178 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra 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 81% 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.