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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 42.5740, -90.6780

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in Iowa. Against other Iowa sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in summer (below the 1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.0 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.8 mi E, grown 4 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: 15th percentile (spring 35th, summer 37th, fall 45th)
  • Iowa: 0th percentile (spring 59th, summer 0th, fall 67th)
  • Driftless Area: 0th percentile (spring 15th, summer 0th, fall 5th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 374 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 108 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 549 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; 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.