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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 37.1396, -80.5967

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (77th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.8 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 1.6 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 90th, summer 60th, fall 48th)
  • Virginia: 86th percentile (spring 91st, summer 77th, fall 87th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 81st percentile (spring 84th, summer 75th, fall 67th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • 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, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Millet: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – 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); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.