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.

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 39.5417, -80.1450

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 (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.12 mi N.

Ranking

Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 95th, summer 44th, fall 38th)
West Virginia: 94th percentile (spring 94th, summer 84th, fall 27th)
Western Allegheny Plateau: 73rd percentile (spring 94th, summer 45th, fall 15th)

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), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

Soybeans: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, 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, Dandelion; light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion; 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.