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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 35.4511, -78.4166

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi S, 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.

Ranking

Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 94th, summer 65th, fall 18th)
North Carolina: 83rd percentile (spring 85th, summer 78th, fall 52nd)
Southeastern Plains: 90th percentile (spring 91st, summer 88th, fall 69th)

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

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul
Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul
Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
Soybeans: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
Soybeans: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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