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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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 report for 42.5085, -88.7257

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in spring and fall (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.55 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 95th percentile (spring 45th, summer 95th, fall 44th)
  • Wisconsin: 100th percentile (spring 26th, summer 99th, fall 26th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 100th percentile (spring 51st, summer 98th, fall 10th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 10,081 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 15,811 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.