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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 42.8845, -88.2043

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (67th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.15 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 83rd percentile (spring 67th, summer 85th, fall 78th)
  • Wisconsin: 84th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 67th, fall 84th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 58th percentile (spring 87th, summer 29th, fall 72nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 185 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.