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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 45.8050, -88.0990

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.7 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.41 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 66th, summer 77th, fall 82nd)
  • Michigan: 58th percentile (spring 57th, summer 61st, fall 91st)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 90th percentile (spring 47th, summer 93rd, fall 97th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 67% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.