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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 37.9126, -76.4795

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 69th, summer 80th, fall 21st)
  • Virginia: 90th percentile (spring 13th, summer 96th, fall 37th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 82nd percentile (spring 32nd, summer 97th, fall 76th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 674 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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