Arcadia Bees
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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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 report for 38.9712, -77.0688

Estimated forage here is better than about 100% of sites in District of Columbia. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other District of Columbia sites. Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.28 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 98th, summer 73rd, fall 63rd)
  • District of Columbia: 100th percentile (spring 100th, summer 100th, fall 100th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 99th percentile (spring 100th, summer 55th, fall 83rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers; 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; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 96% 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.