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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.

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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 37.3274, -77.3240

Estimated forage here is better than about 93% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 96th, summer 52nd, fall 39th)
  • Virginia: 93rd percentile (spring 98th, summer 67th, fall 61st)
  • Southeastern Plains: 86th percentile (spring 96th, summer 80th, fall 93rd)

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 Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 216 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

  • Heavily developed. About 55% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.