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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 46.3228, -90.6602

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in Wisconsin. Against other Wisconsin sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.6 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 78th, summer 74th, fall 56th)
  • Wisconsin: 54th percentile (spring 90th, summer 40th, fall 38th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 89th percentile (spring 80th, summer 86th, fall 79th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Wisconsin, 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, 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; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.