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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 40.6163, -80.5982

Estimated forage here is better than about 66% of sites in West Virginia. Against other West Virginia sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.4 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.17 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 60th percentile (spring 81st, summer 52nd, fall 55th)
  • West Virginia: 66th percentile (spring 29th, summer 93rd, fall 97th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 31st percentile (spring 20th, summer 58th, fall 90th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Jul

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), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber

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.