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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.

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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 45.6448, -88.1792

Estimated forage here is better than about 27% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer and fall (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.7 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.5 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 79th, summer 62nd, fall 29th)
  • Wisconsin: 27th percentile (spring 91st, summer 16th, fall 16th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 57th percentile (spring 84th, summer 39th, fall 40th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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