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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 40.5203, -80.8875

Estimated forage here is better than about 10% of sites in Ohio. Against other Ohio sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 88th, summer 49th, fall 54th)
  • Ohio: 10th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 13th, fall 84th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 52nd percentile (spring 45th, summer 55th, fall 88th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late 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 trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.