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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 32.2962, -86.7158

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (81st percentile) and lowest in summer (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 1.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.9 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 89th, summer 19th, fall 24th)
  • Alabama: 83rd percentile (spring 81st, summer 54th, fall 76th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 77th percentile (spring 81st, summer 40th, fall 80th)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Cotton: about 134 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Sorghum: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Cotton: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi E, 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 shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Cotton; 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 shrubs, 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.