Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 42.5791, -90.0238

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in summer (89th percentile) and lowest in spring and fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 89th, fall 58th)
  • Wisconsin: 93rd percentile (spring 40th, summer 89th, fall 40th)
  • Driftless Area: 84th percentile (spring 48th, summer 79th, fall 18th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 824 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 260 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 132 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2,857 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 5,187 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 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, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

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