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 45.9606, -86.2528

Estimated forage here is better than about 14% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in spring (14th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 39th, summer 67th, fall 78th)
  • Michigan: 14th percentile (spring 14th, summer 34th, fall 88th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 26th percentile (spring 8th, summer 58th, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 30 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 229 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms early Aug – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi N, blooms early Aug – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.