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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 38.5835, -77.7788

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in summer (95th percentile) and lowest in fall (55th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 2 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 92nd, summer 77th, fall 37th)
  • Virginia: 97th percentile (spring 94th, summer 95th, fall 55th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 86th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 70th, fall 11th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 124 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.