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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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 report for 42.8079, -102.7972

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in Nebraska. Against other Nebraska sites it ranks highest in fall (37th percentile) and lowest in summer (below the 1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 2.0 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 2.1 mi N, grown 1 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: 12th percentile (spring 17th, summer 38th, fall 57th)
  • Nebraska: 0th percentile (spring 18th, summer 0th, fall 37th)
  • High Plains: 0th percentile (spring 2nd, summer 12th, fall 47th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Native wildflowers
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Snowberry, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 102 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 111 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Millet: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Snowberry, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Smooth sumac, Native wildflowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Snowberry, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Sweet clovers; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Snowberry, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Smooth sumac; 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.