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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 33.3227, -79.9902

Estimated forage here is better than about 26% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it ranks highest in fall (43rd percentile) and lowest in summer (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 1.9 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 13th, fall 12th)
South Carolina: 26th percentile (spring 21st, summer 12th, fall 43rd)
Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 12th percentile (spring 28th, summer 11th, fall 28th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Main flow: Feb 1 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Apr – late Jun
Corn: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jun
Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

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.