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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 44.1486, -89.0746

Estimated forage here is better than about 26% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (59th percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 61st percentile (spring 55th, summer 75th, fall 66th)
  • Wisconsin: 26th percentile (spring 45th, summer 42nd, fall 59th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 17th percentile (spring 58th, summer 28th, fall 28th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Wisconsin, 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 — Alfalfa, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Dry beans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.