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 45.5275, -94.1727

Estimated forage here is better than about 50% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 70th, summer 79th, fall 88th)
  • Minnesota: 50th percentile (spring 85th, summer 43rd, fall 80th)
  • North Central Hardwood Forests: 60th percentile (spring 85th, summer 38th, fall 84th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Minnesota, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 392 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 741 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 79% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.