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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 35.9750, -80.2202

Estimated forage here is better than about 73% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.21 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 95th, summer 56th, fall 20th)
  • North Carolina: 73rd percentile (spring 90th, summer 66th, fall 57th)
  • Piedmont: 90th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 88th, 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: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; 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, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.