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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 36.7566, -77.8538

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in fall (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi SW); sunflower (nearest 2.9 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.26 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 94th, summer 42nd, fall 30th)
  • Virginia: 86th percentile (spring 97th, summer 49th, fall 46th)
  • Piedmont: 84th percentile (spring 91st, summer 72nd, fall 92nd)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 1 to May 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jun 16 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 59 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 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): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

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.