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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 42.7501, -84.4831

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.5 mi NE); soybeans (nearest 1.5 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 3.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi N. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 81st, summer 78th, fall 84th)
  • Michigan: 75th percentile (spring 90th, summer 64th, fall 93rd)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 42nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 22nd, fall 95th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 713 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 401 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 93% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.