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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 45.6965, -84.7487

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it ranks highest in fall (30th percentile) and lowest in summer (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 2.4 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.3 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 25th percentile (spring 51st, summer 46th, fall 37th)
  • Michigan: 7th percentile (spring 28th, summer 6th, fall 30th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 14th percentile (spring 19th, summer 12th, fall 52nd)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, 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

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.