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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 43.6124, -83.8418

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in spring (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.33 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 82nd, fall 84th)
  • Michigan: 67th percentile (spring 48th, summer 68th, fall 93rd)
  • Huron/Erie Lake Plains: 17th percentile (spring 80th, summer 19th, fall 81st)

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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 263 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2,244 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 505 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Cucumbers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 76% 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.