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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 35.3709, -82.5028

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (77th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); cucumbers (nearest 1.6 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 97th, summer 65th, fall 38th)
  • North Carolina: 90th percentile (spring 99th, summer 77th, fall 79th)
  • Blue Ridge: 100th percentile (spring 99th, summer 99th, fall 31st)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 136 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Cucumbers: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Sep
  • Corn: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% of surveyed US acres (2024); Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.
  • 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.