Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 30.8862, -85.4114

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Florida. Against other Florida sites it stands out most in summer (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (7th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.2 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 2 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: 64th percentile (spring 75th, summer 27th, fall 10th)
  • Florida: 59th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 93rd, fall 7th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 67th percentile (spring 47th, summer 55th, fall 45th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: May 16 to Jul 15 — Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Dec 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 195 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Peas: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Mar – early Apr
  • Cotton: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Cotton: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Cotton: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.
  • 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.