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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 43.4085, -84.6125

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (89th percentile) and lowest in spring (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.25 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 68th, summer 87th, fall 79th)
  • Michigan: 84th percentile (spring 61st, summer 78th, fall 89th)
  • Southern Michigan/Northern Indiana Drift Plains: 66th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 47th, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3,232 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 3,855 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,019 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 1,709 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 824 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 73% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.