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 43.1857, -82.8634

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in summer (95th percentile) and lowest in spring (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.27 mi E.

Ranking

Continental US: 93rd percentile (spring 43rd, summer 93rd, fall 80th)
Michigan: 97th percentile (spring 19th, summer 95th, fall 89th)
Huron/Erie Lake Plains: 63rd percentile (spring 60th, summer 56th, fall 76th)

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

Season

First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 8,382 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Corn: about 1,952 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Corn: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Corn: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Soybeans: about 1,241 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Corn: about 158 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.