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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 42.4512, -88.2408

Estimated forage here is better than about 22% of sites in Illinois. Against other Illinois sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 85th, fall 74th)
  • Illinois: 22nd percentile (spring 87th, summer 16th, fall 97th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 77th percentile (spring 94th, summer 32nd, fall 60th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 899 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 167 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 143 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Soybeans, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE, AO) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.