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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 34.0580, -78.8873

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi NW, 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. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 48th, fall 22nd)
  • South Carolina: 92nd percentile (spring 94th, summer 88th, fall 66th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 76th percentile (spring 96th, summer 51st, fall 56th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to Jun 30 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Corn: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms late Apr – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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