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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 35.5118, -81.6176

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (67th percentile) and lowest in fall (14th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.32 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 91st, summer 47th, fall 6th)
  • North Carolina: 54th percentile (spring 67th, summer 54th, fall 14th)
  • Piedmont: 76th percentile (spring 80th, summer 79th, fall 34th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul

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, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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), Soybeans; 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.