Arcadia Bees
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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 33.1228, -86.1278

Estimated forage here is better than about 53% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (64th percentile) and lowest in fall (29th). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.21 mi SE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 81st, summer 18th, fall 5th)
  • Alabama: 53rd percentile (spring 64th, summer 52nd, fall 29th)
  • Piedmont: 41st percentile (spring 50th, summer 20th, fall 19th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 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 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Aug 15

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): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

  • 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.