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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 43.5794, -85.3039

Estimated forage here is better than about 31% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.8 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.5 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 68th, fall 72nd)
  • Michigan: 31st percentile (spring 48th, summer 37th, fall 80th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 53rd percentile (spring 38th, summer 63rd, fall 93rd)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 895 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% 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.