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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.

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 38.3814, -78.2561

Estimated forage here is better than about 83% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (81st percentile) and lowest in fall (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 85th, summer 63rd, fall 40th)
  • Virginia: 83rd percentile (spring 74th, summer 81st, fall 62nd)
  • Northern Piedmont: 33rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 27th, fall 17th)

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)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 94 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); 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.