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 32.3505, -87.6400
Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (69th percentile) and lowest in fall (10th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 2.5 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 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. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 21st, fall 2nd)
- Alabama: 62nd percentile (spring 69th, summer 59th, fall 10th)
- Southeastern Plains: 52nd percentile (spring 70th, summer 45th, fall 6th)
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, Dandelion
- Season ends: Jul 31
Bee crops nearby
- Cotton: about 218 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Corn: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
- Soybeans: about 107 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
- Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 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 trees (locust, linden), Dandelion; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Cotton; 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). 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.