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 34.6974, -76.8328

Estimated forage here is better than about 28% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.0 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.0 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 78th, summer 26th, fall 46th)
  • North Carolina: 28th percentile (spring 19th, summer 18th, fall 91st)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 27th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 28th, fall 89th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to May 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jun 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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