Arcadia Bees
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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.

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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 43.3357, -88.2773

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.4 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 68th, summer 79th, fall 78th)
  • Wisconsin: 67th percentile (spring 76th, summer 53rd, fall 85th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 25th percentile (spring 89th, summer 14th, fall 74th)

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 Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 96 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 156 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 57% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.