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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 43.8851, -84.4885

Estimated forage here is better than about 53% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (69th percentile) and lowest in spring (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 66th, summer 77th, fall 65th)
  • Michigan: 53rd percentile (spring 57th, summer 62nd, fall 69th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 84th percentile (spring 46th, summer 94th, fall 88th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 274 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 138 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 373 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.