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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 39.0290, -78.3395

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in spring (71st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.6 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.1 mi N). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.17 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 84th, summer 59th, fall 47th)
  • Virginia: 77th percentile (spring 71st, summer 76th, fall 82nd)
  • Ridge and Valley: 69th percentile (spring 68th, summer 74th, fall 61st)

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
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Apples: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early Apr – late Apr
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.