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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 33.9768, -78.3815

Estimated forage here is better than about 48% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 2.4 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi NE. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 65th percentile (spring 87th, summer 31st, fall 40th)
  • North Carolina: 48th percentile (spring 45th, summer 28th, fall 82nd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 41st percentile (spring 67th, summer 35th, fall 83rd)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 1 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), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Apr – late 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 shrubs; 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): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.