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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 34.2591, -79.3123

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 97th, summer 73rd, fall 12th)
  • South Carolina: 99th percentile (spring 98th, summer 99th, fall 40th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 97th percentile (spring 98th, summer 93rd, fall 51st)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jun 30 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Jul 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 407 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 236 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 134 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 196 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 262 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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.