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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 34.4351, -78.0193

Estimated forage here is better than about 31% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (50th percentile) and lowest in summer (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); blueberries (nearest 1.1 mi SW). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 58th percentile (spring 84th, summer 24th, fall 17th)
  • North Carolina: 31st percentile (spring 38th, summer 17th, fall 50th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 29th percentile (spring 61st, summer 27th, fall 44th)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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.