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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 28.4038, -82.5445

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Florida. Against other Florida sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (70th). Biggest nearby bee crops: watermelons (nearest 2.6 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); oranges (nearest 3.6 mi W); strawberries (nearest 3.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 1.24 mi NE. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 86th, summer 34th, fall 48th)
  • Florida: 91st percentile (spring 87th, summer 99th, fall 70th)
  • Southern Coastal Plain: 91st percentile (spring 86th, summer 98th, fall 75th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Watermelons: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms late Mar – late Jul
  • Oranges: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms late Feb – late Apr
  • Strawberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms early Jan – late Dec

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 89% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.
  • No mapped water within a mile. Plan to provide water. Small ponds, ditches, troughs and pools don't show on these maps.

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.