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 34.5717, -80.9072

Estimated forage here is better than about 30% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (51st percentile) and lowest in spring (38th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 46th percentile (spring 78th, summer 23rd, fall 15th)
  • South Carolina: 30th percentile (spring 38th, summer 45th, fall 51st)
  • Piedmont: 34th percentile (spring 38th, summer 30th, fall 73rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.