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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 39.5008, -82.2420

Estimated forage here is better than about 17% of sites in Ohio. Against other Ohio sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (7th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 2.6 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 94th, summer 42nd, fall 49th)
  • Ohio: 17th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 7th, fall 73rd)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 67th percentile (spring 84th, summer 41st, fall 71st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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