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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 36.8201, -77.4693

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (78th percentile) and lowest in fall (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.11 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 85th, summer 60th, fall 9th)
Virginia: 79th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 78th, fall 12th)
Southeastern Plains: 72nd percentile (spring 72nd, summer 85th, fall 44th)

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 Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
Sunflower: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 171 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Cotton: insecticides used on about 39% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.