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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.

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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 42.6033, -89.6346

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Wisconsin. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Wisconsin sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.23 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 88th, fall 73rd)
  • Wisconsin: 98th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 80th, fall 76th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 92nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 48th, fall 58th)

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
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 3,552 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 566 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 884 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 244 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 332 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; 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, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 90% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.