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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.

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 35.4806, -77.5890

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, 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.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 92nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 83rd, fall 6th)
  • North Carolina: 99th percentile (spring 95th, summer 97th, fall 12th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 99th percentile (spring 97th, summer 98th, fall 32nd)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 2,486 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NW, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 545 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 662 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early May – early Jul
  • Corn: about 220 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Corn: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Cotton, 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): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.