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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 38.3937, -78.8321

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Virginia. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Virginia sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 1.6 mi S, 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: 82nd percentile (spring 95th, summer 72nd, fall 55th)
  • Virginia: 97th percentile (spring 97th, summer 90th, fall 97th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 97th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 86th, fall 88th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; 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, Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 72% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.