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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.

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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 42.2814, -87.8494

Estimated forage here is better than about 25% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (100th percentile) and lowest in summer (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.22 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 87th, summer 80th, fall 90th)
  • Illinois: 25th percentile (spring 96th, summer 10th, fall 100th)
  • Central Corn Belt Plains: 18th percentile (spring 99th, summer 8th, fall 100th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NW, 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, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 83% 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.