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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 42.8377, -84.5830

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (76th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 78th, summer 86th, fall 78th)
  • Michigan: 86th percentile (spring 85th, summer 76th, fall 87th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 71st percentile (spring 90th, summer 43rd, fall 88th)

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 Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,365 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2,245 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 364 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 374 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 77% 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 (AE) 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.