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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 44.5201, -85.9377

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (33rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 2.5 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi NW.

Ranking

Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 78th, summer 67th, fall 56th)
Michigan: 45th percentile (spring 87th, summer 33rd, fall 56th)
North Central Hardwood Forests: 28th percentile (spring 94th, summer 14th, fall 14th)

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

Season

First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Corn: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Dry beans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep
Alfalfa: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.