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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 42.3112, -84.0177

Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in summer (69th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 81st, summer 82nd, fall 75th)
  • Michigan: 80th percentile (spring 90th, summer 69th, fall 85th)
  • Eastern Corn Belt Plains: 9th percentile (spring 87th, summer 11th, fall 100th)

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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 178 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 71 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 198 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 479 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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 86% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.