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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 35.5441, -85.8613

Estimated forage here is better than about 92% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in summer (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (4th). 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), 0.27 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 79th, summer 89th, fall 7th)
  • Tennessee: 92nd percentile (spring 15th, summer 94th, fall 4th)
  • Interior Plateau: 97th percentile (spring 13th, summer 96th, fall 3rd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Tennessee, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 15 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,751 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3,274 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 108 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 731 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 279 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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.