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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 38.9363, -76.4985

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (97th percentile) and lowest in summer (41st). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 3.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.28 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 96th, summer 66th, fall 56th)
  • Maryland: 72nd percentile (spring 97th, summer 41st, fall 79th)
  • Southeastern Plains: 90th percentile (spring 95th, summer 88th, fall 100th)

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
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 31 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late 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): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 71% 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.