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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 39.0617, -76.8455

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.9 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.9 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 67th, fall 62nd)
  • Maryland: 76th percentile (spring 98th, summer 43rd, fall 93rd)
  • Southeastern Plains: 91st percentile (spring 95th, summer 89th, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 90 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, 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); 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, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 74% 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.