Arcadia Bees
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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 37.5864, -77.5871

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (100th percentile) and lowest in fall (68th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.9 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.38 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 88th percentile (spring 98th, summer 67th, fall 42nd)
  • Virginia: 99th percentile (spring 100th, summer 86th, fall 68th)
  • Piedmont: 99th percentile (spring 100th, summer 96th, fall 98th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 95% 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.