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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 33.0097, -80.1061

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (80th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 3.2 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); cucumbers (nearest 3.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.1 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 94th, summer 39th, fall 46th)
  • South Carolina: 96th percentile (spring 88th, summer 80th, fall 93rd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 83rd percentile (spring 92nd, summer 44th, fall 89th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Cucumbers: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Cucumbers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 77% 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.