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 35.8364, -78.8404
Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.9 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 94th, summer 48th, fall 38th)
- North Carolina: 67th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 56th, fall 80th)
- Piedmont: 87th percentile (spring 88th, summer 80th, fall 96th)
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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Jun 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 86% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- 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.