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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 43.1601, -88.1203

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 77th, summer 78th, fall 83rd)
  • Wisconsin: 76th percentile (spring 88th, summer 50th, fall 92nd)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 40th percentile (spring 96th, summer 11th, fall 86th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 65% 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 (A) 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.