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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 44.4425, -90.1364

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (72nd percentile) and lowest in spring (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (right here); soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 2 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 56th, summer 80th, fall 71st)
  • Wisconsin: 49th percentile (spring 49th, summer 55th, fall 72nd)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 35th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 44th, fall 38th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 198 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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