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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.

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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 35.7250, -81.4586

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 97th, summer 55th, fall 20th)
  • North Carolina: 82nd percentile (spring 97th, summer 65th, fall 56th)
  • Piedmont: 95th percentile (spring 97th, summer 87th, fall 82nd)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early 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 shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, 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, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 60% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.