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 46.6104, -93.3000

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in summer (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 67th, fall 86th)
  • Minnesota: 21st percentile (spring 60th, summer 26th, fall 77th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 41st percentile (spring 20th, summer 58th, fall 98th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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