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 44.6054, -87.4474

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 81st, fall 88th)
  • Wisconsin: 54th percentile (spring 40th, summer 56th, fall 97th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 41st percentile (spring 53rd, summer 46th, fall 84th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 364 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 98 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 298 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 55% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.