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 38.2699, -77.9309

Estimated forage here is better than about 33% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (50th percentile) and lowest in fall (11th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi W, 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: 48th percentile (spring 77th, summer 42nd, fall 9th)
  • Virginia: 33rd percentile (spring 45th, summer 50th, fall 11th)
  • Piedmont: 39th percentile (spring 35th, summer 72nd, fall 47th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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