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 34.9599, -87.3727

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Alabama. Against other Alabama sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (76th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 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: 85th percentile (spring 90th, summer 78th, fall 24th)
  • Alabama: 97th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 99th, fall 76th)
  • Interior Plateau: 87th percentile (spring 56th, summer 82nd, fall 28th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Cotton
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early May – late Jul
  • Cotton: about 501 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Cotton: about 729 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 152 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 152 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.
  • 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.