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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 39.3918, -76.7001

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.26 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 69th, fall 60th)
  • Maryland: 67th percentile (spring 91st, summer 49th, fall 89th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 72nd percentile (spring 86th, summer 44th, fall 73rd)

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 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late May – early Aug
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 80% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.