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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 35.1197, -78.2992

Estimated forage here is better than about 88% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (7th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.6 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.12 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 89th, summer 79th, fall 4th)
  • North Carolina: 88th percentile (spring 59th, summer 93rd, fall 7th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 93rd percentile (spring 82nd, summer 96th, fall 23rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 421 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 101 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs; white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Cotton, 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): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Cotton; white

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.