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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.

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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 43.6998, -85.4824

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in spring (51st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.8 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 64th, summer 74th, fall 78th)
  • Michigan: 47th percentile (spring 51st, summer 56th, fall 88th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 76th percentile (spring 41st, summer 87th, fall 96th)

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 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, 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), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 83% 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.