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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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 31.5828, -87.2631

Estimated forage here is better than about 56% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (52nd percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 2 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: 51st percentile (spring 76th, summer 13th, fall 12th)
Alabama: 56th percentile (spring 49th, summer 34th, fall 52nd)
Southeastern Plains: 45th percentile (spring 49th, summer 22nd, fall 52nd)

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: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
Fall flow: May 16 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs
Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun
Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.