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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 33.1878, -86.2553

Estimated forage here is better than about 88% of sites in Alabama. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Alabama sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 1.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 94th, summer 36th, fall 30th)
  • Alabama: 88th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 84th, fall 84th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 87th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 34th, fall 21st)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms late May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 129 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 62% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.

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.