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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 39.3876, -79.4688

Estimated forage here is better than about 22% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (86th percentile) and lowest in summer (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.0 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 80th, summer 55th, fall 59th)
  • Maryland: 22nd percentile (spring 63rd, summer 22nd, fall 86th)
  • Central Appalachians: 84th percentile (spring 31st, summer 92nd, fall 95th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.