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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 42.5709, -88.1044

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in summer (76th percentile) and lowest in spring (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi W, 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: 83rd percentile (spring 59th, summer 87th, fall 68th)
  • Wisconsin: 83rd percentile (spring 55th, summer 76th, fall 63rd)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 57th percentile (spring 77th, summer 41st, fall 45th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 203 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,591 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 223 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,300 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 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, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.