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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 36.3865, -85.3260

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (58th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.5 mi W, 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. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 97th, summer 57th, fall 36th)
  • Tennessee: 76th percentile (spring 95th, summer 67th, fall 58th)
  • Interior Plateau: 71st percentile (spring 97th, summer 50th, fall 56th)

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
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 131 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 68% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.