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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 37.3451, -78.9840

Estimated forage here is better than about 57% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (73rd percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.3 mi SW, 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: 58th percentile (spring 85th, summer 44th, fall 15th)
  • Virginia: 57th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 55th, fall 25th)
  • Piedmont: 59th percentile (spring 61st, summer 75th, fall 73rd)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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

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.