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 38.2843, -85.5950

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Kentucky. Against other Kentucky sites it stands out most in spring and fall (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (67th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 97th, summer 70th, fall 52nd)
  • Kentucky: 83rd percentile (spring 99th, summer 67th, fall 99th)
  • Interior Plateau: 89th percentile (spring 98th, summer 70th, fall 98th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 70% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.