Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 35.9592, -78.0498

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (9th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.15 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 85th, summer 77th, fall 5th)
  • North Carolina: 79th percentile (spring 41st, summer 90th, fall 9th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 88th percentile (spring 74th, summer 95th, fall 28th)

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 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 168 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red; white
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Cotton, Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Cotton, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Cucumbers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber

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.