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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 37.5526, -75.7374

Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 72nd, fall 27th)
  • Virginia: 80th percentile (spring 28th, summer 91st, fall 43rd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 46th percentile (spring 31st, summer 72nd, fall 65th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 327 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.