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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 34.4570, -85.6898

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (81st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi SW.

Ranking

Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 34th, fall 37th)
Alabama: 79th percentile (spring 86th, summer 81st, fall 91st)
Southwestern Appalachians: 79th percentile (spring 79th, summer 71st, fall 59th)

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: Mar 1 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun
Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun
Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

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.