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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 43.3143, -83.1794

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (95th percentile) and lowest in spring (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi W). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.19 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 47th, summer 92nd, fall 89th)
  • Michigan: 96th percentile (spring 24th, summer 91st, fall 95th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 91st percentile (spring 35th, summer 77th, fall 98th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 6,530 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 354 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 568 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,850 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, 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); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; 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.