Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 36.8852, -85.7133

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in Kentucky. Against other Kentucky sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 52nd, fall 18th)
  • Kentucky: 54th percentile (spring 84th, summer 49th, fall 22nd)
  • Interior Plateau: 45th percentile (spring 71st, summer 45th, fall 15th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Kentucky, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.