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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 38.2869, -80.8423

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in West Virginia. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other West Virginia sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 3.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 95th, summer 58th, fall 55th)
West Virginia: 98th percentile (spring 94th, summer 96th, fall 97th)
Central Appalachians: 100th percentile (spring 99th, summer 94th, fall 90th)

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

Season

First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul

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 trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 59% 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.