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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 39.6314, -78.3936

Estimated forage here is better than about 7% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (61st percentile) and lowest in summer (3rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 1 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: 43rd percentile (spring 73rd, summer 34th, fall 50th)
  • Maryland: 7th percentile (spring 47th, summer 3rd, fall 61st)
  • Ridge and Valley: 23rd percentile (spring 43rd, summer 27th, fall 74th)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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