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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 39.5827, -77.6520

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in summer (79th percentile) and lowest in fall (54th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi NE, 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. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 81st, summer 86th, fall 48th)
  • Maryland: 89th percentile (spring 68th, summer 79th, fall 54th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 99th percentile (spring 61st, summer 97th, fall 67th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 1,042 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 123 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, 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; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.