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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 35.1706, -79.7219

Estimated forage here is better than about 48% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (61st percentile) and lowest in spring (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.21 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 87th, summer 47th, fall 23rd)
  • North Carolina: 48th percentile (spring 47th, summer 54th, fall 61st)
  • Southeastern Plains: 70th percentile (spring 77th, summer 76th, fall 78th)

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 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 80 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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