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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.

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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 33.6662, -87.6111

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (89th percentile) and lowest in summer (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 2.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi SW, grown 1 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: 63rd percentile (spring 87th, summer 23rd, fall 35th)
  • Alabama: 73rd percentile (spring 77th, summer 65th, fall 89th)
  • Southwestern Appalachians: 69th percentile (spring 58th, summer 44th, fall 51st)

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 16 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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

  • 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.
  • 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.