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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 44.1407, -83.7878

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (99th percentile) and lowest in spring (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cucumbers (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, 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. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 37th, summer 90th, fall 100th)
  • Michigan: 91st percentile (spring 13th, summer 84th, fall 99th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 100th percentile (spring 7th, summer 100th, fall 100th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Sep 15 — Soybeans, Cucumbers
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,568 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Cucumbers: about 95 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Nov
  • Corn: about 161 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Dry beans: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Cucumbers: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Nov

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, Cucumbers; amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Cucumbers, Soybeans, Dry Beans; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Cucumbers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.