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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 35.0452, -81.9795

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in South Carolina. Against other South Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (77th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.8 mi E); millet (nearest 2.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.11 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 96th, summer 50th, fall 29th)
  • South Carolina: 89th percentile (spring 95th, summer 89th, fall 77th)
  • Piedmont: 93rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 82nd, fall 92nd)

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 Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Millet: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun

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
  • 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

  • Heavily developed. About 78% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.

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.