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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 34.5519, -77.9220

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 96th, summer 47th, fall 24th)
  • North Carolina: 81st percentile (spring 93rd, summer 54th, fall 64th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 72nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 50th, fall 60th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across North Carolina, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 478 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 724 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 82 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms late May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.