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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 32.6169, -80.0604

Estimated forage here is better than about 66% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.5 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.1 mi N, 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: 67th percentile (spring 77th, summer 27th, fall 55th)
  • South Carolina: 66th percentile (spring 36th, summer 56th, fall 98th)
  • Southern Coastal Plain: 63rd percentile (spring 75th, summer 93rd, fall 88th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South Carolina, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi N, blooms early May – late May
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NW, blooms early May – late May
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi N, blooms early May – late May

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; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 50% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.