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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 43.4532, -82.9622

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in summer (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (3rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi E). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 92nd percentile (spring 14th, summer 95th, fall 86th)
  • Michigan: 96th percentile (spring 3rd, summer 97th, fall 94th)
  • Huron/Erie Lake Plains: 59th percentile (spring 21st, summer 62nd, fall 82nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: May 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 5,875 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 8,756 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 974 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 160 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

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.