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 45.0678, -88.0359

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in fall (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.16 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 84th, fall 81st)
  • Wisconsin: 67th percentile (spring 40th, summer 65th, fall 90th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 56th percentile (spring 53rd, summer 56th, fall 68th)

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), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,177 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 161 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 166 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.