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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 45.4099, -84.8711

Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in summer (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 59th, summer 68th, fall 70th)
  • Michigan: 27th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 36th, fall 77th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 46th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 62nd, fall 92nd)

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
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, 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, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Alfalfa, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.