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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 35.3898, -81.1998

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (55th percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 61st percentile (spring 87th, summer 35th, fall 19th)
  • North Carolina: 37th percentile (spring 45th, summer 35th, fall 55th)
  • Piedmont: 63rd percentile (spring 66th, summer 57th, fall 81st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Jan 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms early May – 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Garden flowers; extra 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.