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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 42.7163, -90.9899

Estimated forage here is better than about 32% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in spring (78th percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 69th, summer 69th, fall 61st)
Wisconsin: 32nd percentile (spring 78th, summer 31st, fall 44th)
Driftless Area: 11th percentile (spring 96th, summer 6th, fall 24th)

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

Season

First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 515 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Corn: about 1,088 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans; light amber

Things to watch

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.