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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 33.8913, -88.1279

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Alabama. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Alabama sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 91st, summer 32nd, fall 25th)
  • Alabama: 79th percentile (spring 84th, summer 79th, fall 78th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 84th, summer 64th, fall 81st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 61 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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