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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 39.1390, -77.8636

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Virginia. Against other Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in spring (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 64th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 57th, fall 50th)
  • Virginia: 72nd percentile (spring 64th, summer 72nd, fall 92nd)
  • Blue Ridge: 77th percentile (spring 25th, summer 97th, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 344 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 482 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 117 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 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 trees (locust, linden); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.