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 38.0635, -75.5594

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 89th, summer 80th, fall 34th)
  • Maryland: 83rd percentile (spring 84th, summer 67th, fall 26th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 83rd percentile (spring 75th, summer 80th, fall 74th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 235 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 498 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 52% 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.