Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 34.5617, -85.8056

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in summer (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (70th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.13 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 94th, summer 58th, fall 21st)
  • Alabama: 91st percentile (spring 93rd, summer 95th, fall 70th)
  • Southwestern Appalachians: 95th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 96th, fall 14th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.