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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 42.5956, -86.1036

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in spring (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi W); apples (nearest 1.8 mi W). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.31 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 66th, summer 80th, fall 70th)
  • Michigan: 63rd percentile (spring 56th, summer 67th, fall 77th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 21st percentile (spring 69th, summer 27th, fall 74th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 111 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 132 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.