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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 42.4196, -92.2141

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in fall (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (21st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.18 mi S.

Ranking

Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 56th, summer 89th, fall 54th)
Iowa: 21st percentile (spring 78th, summer 21st, fall 80th)
Western Corn Belt Plains: 14th percentile (spring 87th, summer 12th, fall 73rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Iowa, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 591 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Corn: about 1,209 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 1,302 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Soybeans: about 296 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Corn: about 2,284 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans; light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; light amber
Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

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.