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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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 38.7941, -77.3376

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (77th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 60th, fall 49th)
Virginia: 89th percentile (spring 94th, summer 77th, fall 89th)
Piedmont: 86th percentile (spring 84th, summer 91st, fall 100th)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 60% 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.