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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 39.5393, -78.8850

Estimated forage here is better than about 34% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.8 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.15 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 89th, summer 53rd, fall 55th)
  • Maryland: 34th percentile (spring 84th, summer 20th, fall 77th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 74th percentile (spring 80th, summer 67th, fall 89th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Maryland, 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 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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