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.

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 40.4065, -80.5656

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in West Virginia. Against other West Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (56th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 88th, summer 57th, fall 57th)
West Virginia: 91st percentile (spring 56th, summer 96th, fall 98th)
Western Allegheny Plateau: 66th percentile (spring 49th, summer 66th, fall 94th)

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

Season

First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 64% 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.