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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 35.0951, -78.7859

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.16 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 58th, fall 21st)
  • North Carolina: 85th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 68th, fall 57th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 91st percentile (spring 95th, summer 84th, fall 75th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 188 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 125 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 190 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 150 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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