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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.

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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 45.1695, -87.1739

Estimated forage here is better than about 46% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in spring and fall (74th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 67th, summer 75th, fall 72nd)
  • Wisconsin: 46th percentile (spring 74th, summer 41st, fall 74th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 33rd percentile (spring 81st, summer 28th, fall 42nd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 127 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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 trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.