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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 38.4567, -75.7529

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in summer (81st percentile) and lowest in spring (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 2 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 0.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 70th, summer 86th, fall 47th)
  • Maryland: 84th percentile (spring 38th, summer 81st, fall 49th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 84th percentile (spring 24th, summer 88th, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 462 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 92 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Watermelons, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Watermelons, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Watermelons: insecticides used on about 38% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.