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 46.7256, -92.5031

Estimated forage here is better than about 26% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (77th percentile) and lowest in summer (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 61st percentile (spring 64th, summer 70th, fall 61st)
  • Minnesota: 26th percentile (spring 77th, summer 32nd, fall 39th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 57th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 72nd, fall 83rd)

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)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi W, 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 shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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.