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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 34.8185, -78.2177

Estimated forage here is better than about 56% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (68th percentile) and lowest in fall (4th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.17 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 87th, summer 58th, fall 3rd)
  • North Carolina: 56th percentile (spring 47th, summer 68th, fall 4th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 74th percentile (spring 77th, summer 83rd, fall 17th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 191 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 104 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Watermelons; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; white

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.