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.

Forage on the map in —

National map

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 38.6784, -77.0006

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.5 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 3.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 94th, summer 55th, fall 49th)
Maryland: 51st percentile (spring 94th, summer 22nd, fall 57th)
Southeastern Plains: 82nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 81st, fall 98th)

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

Season

First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi E, blooms late May – late Jul
Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi S, blooms late May – late Jul
Sorghum: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 58% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.