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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 35.5663, -75.4650

Estimated forage here is better than about 21% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in spring (14th). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 76th, summer 31st, fall 41st)
  • North Carolina: 21st percentile (spring 14th, summer 28th, fall 82nd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 21st percentile (spring 36th, summer 35th, fall 83rd)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to May 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE, VE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.