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.

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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 43.0859, -86.0732

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.4 mi W); cucumbers (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 65th, summer 73rd, fall 78th)
Michigan: 45th percentile (spring 54th, summer 52nd, fall 88th)
Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 7th percentile (spring 68th, summer 10th, fall 89th)

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

Season

First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Cucumbers: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Oct
Corn: about 328 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.