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 44.8592, -89.1538

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in spring and summer (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.24 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 56th, summer 78th, fall 69th)
  • Wisconsin: 36th percentile (spring 48th, summer 48th, fall 67th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 25th percentile (spring 61st, summer 35th, fall 34th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 198 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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