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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 47.0352, -88.5283

Estimated forage here is better than about 26% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (56th percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 67th, fall 56th)
  • Michigan: 26th percentile (spring 49th, summer 34th, fall 56th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 44th percentile (spring 38th, summer 58th, fall 79th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Michigan, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 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

  • Peas: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Peas: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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