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 44.2469, -86.3288
Estimated forage here is better than about 24% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in spring (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: cherries (nearest 1.2 mi S); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 55th, summer 67th, fall 75th)
- Michigan: 24th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 36th, fall 84th)
- North Central Hardwood Forests: 11th percentile (spring 57th, summer 15th, fall 49th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Michigan, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
- Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Season ends: Oct 15
Bee crops nearby
- Cherries: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early May – late May
- Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
- Cherries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early May – late May
- Sorghum: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
- Cherries: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NE, blooms early May – late May
- Cherries: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NE, blooms early May – late May
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 82% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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 (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.