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 45.2743, -84.6047

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (75th percentile) and lowest in summer (44th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 70th, fall 61st)
  • Michigan: 45th percentile (spring 75th, summer 44th, fall 62nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 73rd percentile (spring 68th, summer 72nd, fall 84th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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