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 47.0557, -88.6573

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.5 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 3.6 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 77th, summer 76th, fall 46th)
  • Michigan: 58th percentile (spring 84th, summer 59th, fall 42nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 90th percentile (spring 79th, summer 91st, fall 66th)

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)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Peas: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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