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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 39.5125, -80.2527

Estimated forage here is better than about 94% of sites in West Virginia. Against other West Virginia sites it stands out most in spring (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (32nd). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 95th, summer 45th, fall 39th)
West Virginia: 94th percentile (spring 94th, summer 87th, fall 32nd)
Western Allegheny Plateau: 76th percentile (spring 94th, summer 48th, fall 20th)

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

Season

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

What the honey would be made of

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