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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 35.0687, -88.8945

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 97th, summer 47th, fall 21st)
  • Tennessee: 75th percentile (spring 94th, summer 56th, fall 24th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 88th percentile (spring 97th, summer 76th, fall 76th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Tennessee, 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
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 215 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans; 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.