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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.

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 44.7323, -85.1870

Estimated forage here is better than about 32% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (73rd percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.2 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 2.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.8 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.39 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 69th, fall 67th)
  • Michigan: 32nd percentile (spring 49th, summer 42nd, fall 73rd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 54th percentile (spring 38th, summer 70th, fall 90th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 159 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 58% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.