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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 38.5184, -77.4383

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (54th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 50th percentile (spring 80th, summer 38th, fall 26th)
  • Virginia: 36th percentile (spring 54th, summer 41st, fall 42nd)
  • Piedmont: 42nd percentile (spring 43rd, summer 64th, fall 90th)

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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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