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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 36.1993, -86.5094

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.14 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 95th, summer 56th, fall 34th)
  • Tennessee: 69th percentile (spring 84th, summer 65th, fall 52nd)
  • Interior Plateau: 61st percentile (spring 86th, summer 48th, fall 50th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Tennessee, 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, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 58% 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.