Arcadia Bees
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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.

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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 34.3303, -78.7014

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 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), 0.47 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 97th, summer 44th, fall 39th)
  • North Carolina: 91st percentile (spring 98th, summer 50th, fall 81st)
  • Southeastern Plains: 94th percentile (spring 98th, summer 74th, fall 93rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North 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 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 129 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Apr – 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), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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), Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 74% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.