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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 33.9135, -81.5290

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% 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: squash (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 0.6 mi SE); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.18 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 38th, fall 25th)
  • South Carolina: 76th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 78th, fall 70th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 80th percentile (spring 89th, summer 70th, fall 81st)

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 May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Squash: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early May – late Aug
  • Grapes: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early May
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Apr – early Jul

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 57% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Squash: insecticides used on about 71% of surveyed US acres (2024); Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% 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.