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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 36.4211, -82.4756

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Tennessee. Against other Tennessee sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (34th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 3.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 97th, summer 62nd, fall 25th)
  • Tennessee: 79th percentile (spring 96th, summer 73rd, fall 34th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 96th percentile (spring 98th, summer 78th, fall 17th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Tennessee, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • 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 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Millet: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 52% 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.