Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 45.4561, -123.8355

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Oregon. Against other Oregon sites it stands out most in spring (79th percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.18 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 94th, summer 57th, fall 40th)
  • Oregon: 76th percentile (spring 79th, summer 40th, fall 30th)
  • Coast Range: 26th percentile (spring 28th, summer 41st, fall 95th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 1 — Dandelion, Maples, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Feb 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 107 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 53 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.