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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 34.1169, -85.9657

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in spring (60th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 50th percentile (spring 80th, summer 26th, fall 31st)
  • Alabama: 55th percentile (spring 60th, summer 69th, fall 85th)
  • Southwestern Appalachians: 37th percentile (spring 28th, summer 52nd, fall 40th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.