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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 38.6076, -75.9477

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in summer (93rd percentile) and lowest in spring (19th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); watermelons (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.12 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 91st percentile (spring 61st, summer 91st, fall 36th)
  • Maryland: 97th percentile (spring 19th, summer 93rd, fall 28th)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 96th percentile (spring 12th, summer 97th, fall 78th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 1,366 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 997 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 508 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 300 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 335 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late May – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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