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 33.5570, -86.9721

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.16 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 51st percentile (spring 79th, summer 17th, fall 31st)
Alabama: 57th percentile (spring 58th, summer 49th, fall 85th)
Southwestern Appalachians: 40th percentile (spring 24th, summer 26th, fall 40th)

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

Season

First forage: Jan 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.