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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 34.6455, -86.0461

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (88th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 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: 80th percentile (spring 96th, summer 42nd, fall 40th)
  • Alabama: 93rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 88th, fall 94th)
  • Southwestern Appalachians: 98th percentile (spring 99th, summer 81st, fall 68th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early May – early 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 shrubs; 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 shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.