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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 34.5097, -79.6506

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (60th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 2 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: 82nd percentile (spring 94th, summer 63rd, fall 18th)
  • South Carolina: 93rd percentile (spring 85th, summer 95th, fall 60th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 91st percentile (spring 91st, summer 86th, fall 71st)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across South 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: Mar 1 to Jun 30 — Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 210 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 282 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 183 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Cotton: about 177 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 371 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Cotton, Soybeans, 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, Cotton, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% 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.