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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 35.0193, -81.8027

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in fall (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 1.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.8 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 95th, summer 40th, fall 17th)
  • South Carolina: 79th percentile (spring 91st, summer 80th, fall 56th)
  • Piedmont: 87th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 68th, fall 77th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 56% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.