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 42.7446, -89.5908

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in summer (94th percentile) and lowest in spring and fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.14 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 91st, fall 59th)
  • Wisconsin: 97th percentile (spring 40th, summer 94th, fall 40th)
  • Driftless Area: 93rd percentile (spring 48th, summer 84th, fall 19th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 4,829 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 695 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 335 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,510 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,080 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 145 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra 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.