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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 43.5007, -87.8473

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 48th, summer 88th, fall 91st)
  • Wisconsin: 90th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 83rd, fall 98th)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 71st percentile (spring 58th, summer 53rd, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,418 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 544 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 211 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 446 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – 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; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber

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.