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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 34.4360, -77.5359

Estimated forage here is better than about 3% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in spring (1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.7 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 29th percentile (spring 61st, summer 22nd, fall 46th)
  • North Carolina: 3rd percentile (spring 1st, summer 14th, fall 92nd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 4th percentile (spring 11th, summer 24th, fall 89th)

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), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion; 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.