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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.

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 34.7979, -86.1205

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Alabama. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Alabama sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 2.3 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 91st, summer 47th, fall 39th)
  • Alabama: 81st percentile (spring 84th, summer 91st, fall 93rd)
  • Southwestern Appalachians: 83rd percentile (spring 76th, summer 87th, fall 65th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms early Jun – 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), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, 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, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

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.