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 35.1099, -84.9114

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer and fall (50th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.4 mi NW, grown 3 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: 75th percentile (spring 94th, summer 44th, fall 32nd)
  • Tennessee: 62nd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 50th, fall 50th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 85th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 53rd, fall 25th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.