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 32.1601, -86.7049
Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 1.8 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.1 mi E, grown 1 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: 75th percentile (spring 94th, summer 26th, fall 7th)
- Alabama: 87th percentile (spring 91st, summer 69th, fall 40th)
- Southeastern Plains: 81st percentile (spring 90th, summer 54th, fall 37th)
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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
- Season ends: Jul 31
Bee crops nearby
- Cotton: about 114 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
- Corn: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
- Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
- Cotton: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
- Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
- Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.