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 39.5504, -78.9987

Estimated forage here is better than about 15% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (15th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.0 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.9 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 77th, summer 47th, fall 58th)
Maryland: 15th percentile (spring 56th, summer 15th, fall 84th)
Central Appalachians: 52nd percentile (spring 27th, summer 85th, fall 94th)

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)
Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

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): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.