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 33.9911, -85.8641
Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (79th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cotton (nearest 1.4 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.31 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 96th, summer 43rd, fall 25th)
- Alabama: 92nd percentile (spring 97th, summer 89th, fall 79th)
- Ridge and Valley: 93rd percentile (spring 97th, summer 51st, fall 17th)
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)
- Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Cotton: about 199 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
- Corn: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
- Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
- Soybeans: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
- Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
- Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early May – 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, Dandelion, Cotton, Garden flowers; 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 51% 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. 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.
- 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.