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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 45.5520, -84.7828

Estimated forage here is better than about 52% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (74th percentile) and lowest in summer (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.32 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 73rd, summer 73rd, fall 66th)
  • Michigan: 52nd percentile (spring 74th, summer 53rd, fall 72nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 83rd percentile (spring 66th, summer 84th, fall 89th)

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 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; 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.