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.

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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 35.3869, -85.0835

Estimated forage here is better than about 16% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it ranks highest in fall (43rd percentile) and lowest in spring (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi NW.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 80th, summer 28th, fall 28th)
  • Tennessee: 16th percentile (spring 19th, summer 24th, fall 43rd)
  • Ridge and Valley: 36th percentile (spring 59th, summer 13th, fall 20th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 324 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

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.