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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 38.0990, -78.8489

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (71st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi NW, 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.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 91st, summer 56th, fall 51st)
  • Virginia: 85th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 71st, fall 94th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 79th percentile (spring 85th, summer 70th, fall 78th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi N, blooms early Jun – early 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 shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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.