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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 34.9314, -82.1427

Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 95th, summer 39th, fall 21st)
South Carolina: 80th percentile (spring 90th, summer 80th, fall 64th)
Piedmont: 88th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 67th, fall 84th)

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

Season

First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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