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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 39.6533, -76.8873

Estimated forage here is better than about 75% of sites in Maryland. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Maryland sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (right here, grown 3 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: 82nd percentile (spring 81st, summer 81st, fall 53rd)
  • Maryland: 75th percentile (spring 68th, summer 70th, fall 70th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 80th percentile (spring 53rd, summer 80th, fall 53rd)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 145 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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.
  • 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.