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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 42.9234, -88.8455

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (79th percentile) and lowest in summer (59th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.16 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 69th, summer 82nd, fall 75th)
  • Wisconsin: 76th percentile (spring 77th, summer 59th, fall 79th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 41st percentile (spring 89th, summer 21st, fall 62nd)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 102 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 252 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 803 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 462 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,524 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, 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, Black locust; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, 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 72% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.