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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.

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 45.3572, -84.2272

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (99th percentile) and lowest in spring (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.4 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 69th, summer 86th, fall 99th)
  • Michigan: 93rd percentile (spring 66th, summer 77th, fall 99th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 100th percentile (spring 57th, summer 99th, fall 100th)

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: May 16 to Sep 15 — Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 — Clover/Wildflowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Sunflower: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clover/Wildflowers, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clover/Wildflowers, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion; 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.