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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 37.5488, -75.7823

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in spring and fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 74th, summer 86th, fall 17th)
  • Virginia: 98th percentile (spring 30th, summer 99th, fall 30th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 85th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 88th, fall 45th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Aug 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 96 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 327 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 234 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.