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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 35.7422, -79.6918

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in fall (65th percentile) and lowest in summer (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.6 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.5 mi W, grown 1 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: 62nd percentile (spring 89th, summer 35th, fall 25th)
  • North Carolina: 40th percentile (spring 55th, summer 34th, fall 65th)
  • Piedmont: 66th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 57th, fall 89th)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.