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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 38.5676, -76.6869

Estimated forage here is better than about 33% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (71st percentile) and lowest in summer and fall (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.11 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 63rd, fall 41st)
  • Maryland: 33rd percentile (spring 71st, summer 36th, fall 36th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 67th, summer 87th, fall 94th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Maryland, 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 Jul 31 — Soybeans, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 129 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 77 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (VE) 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.