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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 36.2242, -80.3583

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in North Carolina. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other North Carolina sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 86th, summer 43rd, fall 15th)
  • North Carolina: 36th percentile (spring 43rd, summer 49th, fall 43rd)
  • Piedmont: 62nd percentile (spring 64th, summer 73rd, fall 70th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.