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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 36.0115, -77.8577

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in North Carolina. Against other North Carolina sites it stands out most in summer (85th percentile) and lowest in fall (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); cotton (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 85th, summer 73rd, fall 12th)
  • North Carolina: 72nd percentile (spring 39th, summer 85th, fall 35th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 84th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 92nd, fall 51st)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 97 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.