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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 39.3726, -76.9714

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.3 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 94th, summer 71st, fall 57th)
  • Maryland: 75th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 52nd, fall 82nd)
  • Northern Piedmont: 79th percentile (spring 90th, summer 50th, fall 64th)

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, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 46 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra 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, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 57% 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.