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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 34.8280, -77.9266

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (75th percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 91st, summer 63rd, fall 8th)
  • North Carolina: 73rd percentile (spring 67th, summer 75th, fall 22nd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 65th percentile (spring 81st, summer 64th, fall 15th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jun 30 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 888 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 133 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra 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.