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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 42.3353, -88.2905

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.3 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 77th, summer 84th, fall 78th)
  • Illinois: 21st percentile (spring 90th, summer 13th, fall 98th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 75th percentile (spring 96th, summer 25th, fall 73rd)

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: May 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 199 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 548 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, 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 72% 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.