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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.

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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 35.4541, -86.2588

Estimated forage here is better than about 49% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (68th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 2 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: 69th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 37th, fall 39th)
  • Tennessee: 49th percentile (spring 68th, summer 41st, fall 67th)
  • Interior Plateau: 33rd percentile (spring 68th, summer 22nd, fall 67th)

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, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late 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 trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans; 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), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.