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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.

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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 31.4963, -87.9726

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in summer (71st percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.2 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 84th, summer 27th, fall 5th)
  • Alabama: 73rd percentile (spring 69th, summer 71st, fall 30th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 65th percentile (spring 70th, summer 56th, fall 26th)

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 Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 170 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Cotton: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 121 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms early May – early 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), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Soybeans; 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.