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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 38.8173, -76.7534

Estimated forage here is better than about 43% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (86th percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.9 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 90th, summer 60th, fall 51st)
  • Maryland: 43rd percentile (spring 86th, summer 30th, fall 65th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 80th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 85th, fall 99th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Maryland, 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
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SE, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late May – early Aug

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): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 64% 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.