Arcadia Bees
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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 43.8368, -83.3703

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 49th, summer 82nd, fall 95th)
  • Michigan: 60th percentile (spring 26th, summer 69th, fall 96th)
  • Huron/Erie Lake Plains: 13th percentile (spring 66th, summer 19th, fall 87th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Dry Beans, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 102 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 1,084 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 157 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Dry beans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 521 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; water white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Cucumbers; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Dry Beans, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white

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.