Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 35.4540, -81.1535

Estimated forage here is better than about 56% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (76th percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi SE, 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: 70th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 40th, fall 13th)
  • North Carolina: 56th percentile (spring 76th, summer 45th, fall 38th)
  • Piedmont: 79th percentile (spring 86th, summer 69th, fall 64th)

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), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • 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, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late May – late Jun

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.