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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.

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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 38.2666, -75.8858

Estimated forage here is better than about 16% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 49th, fall 62nd)
  • Maryland: 16th percentile (spring 47th, summer 17th, fall 94th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 25th percentile (spring 31st, summer 52nd, fall 98th)

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)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans
  • 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 0.9 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.