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.

Forage on the map in —

National map

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 30.2780, -87.7028

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 3.4 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 24th, fall 50th)
Alabama: 77th percentile (spring 40th, summer 66th, fall 98th)
Southern Coastal Plain: 62nd percentile (spring 65th, summer 89th, fall 79th)

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

Season

First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early Jun
Cotton: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

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.