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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 39.1304, -76.8480

Estimated forage here is better than about 60% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (39th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.0 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 78th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 65th, fall 61st)
  • Maryland: 60th percentile (spring 91st, summer 39th, fall 90th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 63rd percentile (spring 86th, summer 31st, fall 74th)

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

  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Sweet corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Sweet corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 75% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.