Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 43.2235, -90.2961

Estimated forage here is better than about 48% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (65th percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 62nd, summer 78th, fall 69th)
  • Wisconsin: 48th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 50th, fall 65th)
  • Driftless Area: 27th percentile (spring 79th, summer 23rd, fall 70th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Wisconsin, 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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,770 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 400 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 308 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep

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