Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 37.9929, -80.3587

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in West Virginia. Against other West Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (95th percentile) and lowest in spring (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi N); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); blueberries (nearest 1.3 mi E). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.26 mi S. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 80th, summer 55th, fall 51st)
  • West Virginia: 67th percentile (spring 26th, summer 95th, fall 88th)
  • Central Appalachians: 84th percentile (spring 30th, summer 92nd, fall 82nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 143 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.