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 44.4901, -89.5608

Estimated forage here is better than about 35% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: dry beans (nearest 1.9 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 73rd, fall 80th)
  • Wisconsin: 35th percentile (spring 65th, summer 36th, fall 87th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 25th percentile (spring 75th, summer 23rd, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Dry beans: about 152 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 343 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 215 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% 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. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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.