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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.

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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 39.5734, -76.0657

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (72nd percentile) and lowest in summer (53rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.3 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi NW, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 81st, summer 72nd, fall 54th)
  • Maryland: 45th percentile (spring 67th, summer 53rd, fall 72nd)
  • Southeastern Plains: 80th percentile (spring 65th, summer 92nd, fall 100th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 96 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 52% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.