Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 43.7386, -87.7313

Estimated forage here is better than about 25% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.5 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.32 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 73rd, fall 82nd)
  • Wisconsin: 25th percentile (spring 40th, summer 37th, fall 91st)
  • Southeastern Wisconsin Till Plains: 3rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 4th, fall 84th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 652 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 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, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, 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, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 88% 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.