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 44.0330, -84.0186

Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (89th percentile) and lowest in spring (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, 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), 0.34 mi SW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 83rd, fall 79th)
  • Michigan: 61st percentile (spring 29th, summer 71st, fall 89th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 94th percentile (spring 20th, summer 98th, fall 97th)

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 Aug 31 — Soybeans, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 251 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 216 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 535 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 159 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.