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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 46.2949, -93.8245

Estimated forage here is better than about 10% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (62nd percentile) and lowest in summer (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 30th percentile (spring 54th, summer 48th, fall 48th)
  • Minnesota: 10th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 8th, fall 26th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 17th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 14th, fall 68th)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.