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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 43.3898, -87.9445

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 (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.4 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.21 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 64th, summer 83rd, fall 82nd)
  • Wisconsin: 76th percentile (spring 67th, summer 61st, fall 92nd)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 40th percentile (spring 84th, summer 23rd, fall 85th)

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 84 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 105 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% 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 (AE) 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.