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.
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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 31.0236, -86.3180
Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (63rd percentile) and lowest in spring (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 76th, summer 21st, fall 17th)
- Alabama: 71st percentile (spring 50th, summer 59th, fall 63rd)
- Southeastern Plains: 64th percentile (spring 51st, summer 45th, fall 67th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Alabama, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Jan 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Jan 16 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
- Fall flow: May 16 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Season ends: Dec 31
Bee crops nearby
- Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – late May
- Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Apr – late Jun
- Cotton: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Cotton: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Cotton: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early Apr – late Jun
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Cotton, 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.