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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.

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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 47.1365, -88.5989

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Michigan. Against other Michigan sites it stands out most in fall (74th percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 2.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.48 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 61st, summer 73rd, fall 68th)
  • Michigan: 37th percentile (spring 45th, summer 53rd, fall 74th)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 62nd percentile (spring 35th, summer 84th, fall 90th)

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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Peas: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 56% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.