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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 35.3246, -79.2551

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (63rd percentile) and lowest in summer (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cotton (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. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 65th percentile (spring 89th, summer 40th, fall 24th)
  • North Carolina: 47th percentile (spring 55th, summer 45th, fall 63rd)
  • Southeastern Plains: 69th percentile (spring 81st, summer 72nd, fall 80th)

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), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.