Arcadia Bees
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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 35.4644, -82.5704

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.9 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.5 mi S, 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: 80th percentile (spring 97th, summer 56th, fall 40th)
  • North Carolina: 81st percentile (spring 97th, summer 66th, fall 82nd)
  • Blue Ridge: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 96th, fall 37th)

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)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – 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, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 66% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.