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.

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 33.6099, -78.9780

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (82nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 3.7 mi W). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 94th, summer 42nd, fall 45th)
South Carolina: 89th percentile (spring 85th, summer 82nd, fall 93rd)
Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 72nd percentile (spring 90th, summer 46th, fall 88th)

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

Season

First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Main flow: Feb 16 to Apr 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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 94% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.