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 38.6984, -77.2174
Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (88th percentile) and lowest in summer (70th). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.28 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 88th, summer 55th, fall 49th)
- Virginia: 80th percentile (spring 86th, summer 70th, fall 88th)
- Southeastern Plains: 73rd percentile (spring 80th, summer 81st, fall 98th)
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 Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
- Season ends: Sep 30
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, 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): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 72% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- 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.