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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 36.9495, -79.3628

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (89th percentile) and lowest in fall (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 89th, summer 62nd, fall 27th)
  • Virginia: 85th percentile (spring 89th, summer 79th, fall 43rd)
  • Piedmont: 82nd percentile (spring 75th, summer 93rd, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug

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