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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 47.4877, -92.8777

Estimated forage here is better than about 22% of sites in Minnesota. Against other Minnesota sites it stands out most in spring (68th percentile) and lowest in summer (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 2.2 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 58th, summer 68th, fall 68th)
  • Minnesota: 22nd percentile (spring 68th, summer 28th, fall 52nd)
  • Northern Lakes and Forests: 43rd percentile (spring 29th, summer 63rd, fall 90th)

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), 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 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 57% 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.