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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 38.3426, -77.0652

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in fall (63rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 1 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: 69th percentile (spring 88th, summer 55th, fall 41st)
  • Virginia: 81st percentile (spring 85th, summer 71st, fall 63rd)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 46th percentile (spring 71st, summer 57th, fall 83rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • 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 — Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 139 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SW, blooms late May – 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Soybeans; extra 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.