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 46.1886, -92.7836

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 77th, fall 75th)
  • Minnesota: 45th percentile (spring 88th, summer 41st, fall 63rd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 94th percentile (spring 64th, summer 93rd, fall 95th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Minnesota, 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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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