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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 38.2484, -75.8997

Estimated forage here is better than about 9% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (83rd percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 46th percentile (spring 66th, summer 48th, fall 57th)
  • Maryland: 9th percentile (spring 28th, summer 16th, fall 83rd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 14th percentile (spring 17th, summer 51st, fall 97th)

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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.