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 34.7915, -76.4688

Estimated forage here is better than about 8% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (99th percentile) and lowest in spring (3rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.9 mi W, 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: 41st percentile (spring 65th, summer 23rd, fall 59th)
  • North Carolina: 8th percentile (spring 3rd, summer 15th, fall 99th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 9th percentile (spring 16th, summer 26th, fall 97th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 1 to May 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 277 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 1,573 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Corn: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 330 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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