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 31.3002, -87.0290
Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in Alabama. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Alabama sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 77th, summer 19th, fall 9th)
- Alabama: 63rd percentile (spring 52nd, summer 54th, fall 46th)
- Southeastern Plains: 53rd percentile (spring 53rd, summer 40th, fall 44th)
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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
- Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Cotton
- Season ends: Aug 15
Bee crops nearby
- Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Cotton: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Cotton: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late 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 trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025); 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.
- 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.