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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 38.4812, -75.8319

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in summer (84th percentile) and lowest in spring (17th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 3 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: 83rd percentile (spring 60th, summer 87th, fall 41st)
  • Maryland: 79th percentile (spring 17th, summer 84th, fall 35th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 80th percentile (spring 11th, summer 90th, fall 84th)

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 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 793 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 152 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 143 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 431 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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.
  • 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.