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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 36.0051, -80.4295

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (67th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.9 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.15 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 97th, summer 57th, fall 32nd)
  • North Carolina: 84th percentile (spring 98th, summer 67th, fall 72nd)
  • Piedmont: 96th percentile (spring 98th, summer 89th, fall 93rd)

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 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Millet: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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 71% 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.