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.

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 45.0670, -83.8939

Estimated forage here is better than about 53% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (48th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 62nd, summer 77th, fall 81st)
Michigan: 53rd percentile (spring 48th, summer 61st, fall 90th)
Northern Lakes and Forests: 84th percentile (spring 38th, summer 93rd, fall 97th)

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 Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Soybeans
Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 163 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Alfalfa: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
Corn: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
Dry beans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Sep
Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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