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 35.4691, -77.4162

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (63rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi SW, 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: 94th percentile (spring 98th, summer 80th, fall 24th)
  • North Carolina: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 94th, fall 63rd)
  • Southeastern Plains: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 97th, fall 80th)

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)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 403 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 615 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 876 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 982 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Cotton, Garden flowers, 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, Dandelion, Cotton; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.