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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 36.5573, -77.8738

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (58th percentile) and lowest in fall (9th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 51st percentile (spring 81st, summer 38th, fall 8th)
  • Virginia: 40th percentile (spring 58th, summer 39th, fall 9th)
  • Piedmont: 45th percentile (spring 47th, summer 63rd, fall 43rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.