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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 39.2118, -76.0441

Estimated forage here is better than about 85% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in summer (87th percentile) and lowest in spring (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, 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: 85th percentile (spring 61st, summer 88th, fall 39th)
  • Maryland: 85th percentile (spring 18th, summer 87th, fall 31st)
  • Middle Atlantic Coastal Plain: 85th percentile (spring 11th, summer 92nd, fall 81st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Jul 31 — Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 335 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 1,177 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 333 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 533 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra 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): Soybeans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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.