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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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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Forage report for 27.2481, -81.6970

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Florida. Against other Florida sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (1st). Expect a dearth from early Jul to early Dec. Biggest nearby bee crops: oranges (nearest 0.2 mi E); citrus (nearest 1.2 mi SW). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 6th, fall 1st)
  • Florida: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 15th, fall 1st)
  • Southern Coastal Plain: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 12th, fall 1st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Apr 15 — Oranges
  • Dearth: Jul 1 to Dec 15
  • Season ends: Apr 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Oranges: about 15,250 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Oranges: about 177 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Oranges: about 461 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Citrus: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Citrus: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SW, blooms late Feb – early Apr
  • Oranges: about 184 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi SW, blooms late Feb – early Apr

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Oranges, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Oranges, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Oranges: insecticides used on about 93% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: grapefruit: insecticides used on about 63% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: lemons: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2025); Citrus: tangerines: insecticides used on about 82% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.