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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 33.9034, -78.4370

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 3.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.3 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 89th, summer 32nd, fall 39th)
  • North Carolina: 58th percentile (spring 57th, summer 30th, fall 82nd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 49th percentile (spring 75th, summer 36th, fall 82nd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North 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 1 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 30 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.