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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 33.8175, -81.0981

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in fall (70th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 38th, fall 24th)
  • South Carolina: 77th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 77th, fall 70th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 81st percentile (spring 89th, summer 70th, fall 80th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Cotton: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 74 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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