You'll see numbers like these in Forage Outlook
🌿 Pollen potential 100/100
🍯 Nectar support 43/100
🐝 Bee flying conditions 74/100
☀️ Nectar conditions 92/100
Let’s look at these and what it might mean.
Pollen potential 100/100 – this is a season and profile driven score, not a weather score. It’s asking “are the right plants likely to be producing pollen right now given the time of year, the forage profile and the local plant evidence?”
A score of 100 means it’s peak season for pollen from the sources in your profile. It doesn’t mean bees will collect it, just that it’s likely available if they can fly.
Nectar support 43/100 – this is asking how strong the local nectar source base is, again from season, profile and plant evidence, flowering windows and such like. It’s deliberately separate from weather.
A moderate score here reflects the June gap reality as pollen sources are abundant but the nectar-yielding plants that matter for stores (clover, willowherb properly in flower, good bramble flow) aren’t all firing at full strength yet (at least in this particular location). This is the number that explains why the intake score isn’t as high as the pollen or flying conditions would suggest.
Bee flying conditions 74/100 This is purely down to weather. Temperature, wind, rain, brightness in the best available flying window. This has nothing to do with what’s flowering, it’s just asking whether bees can practically get out and work. 74 means decent but not ideal flying weather, probably some wind or cloud limiting things in this forecast.
Nectar conditions 92/100 – this one can confuse people because it sits alongside nectar support but measures something completely different. It’s asking about the environmental conditions for nectar secretion.
Yes, we look at soil temperature, air temperature, recent rainfall, humidity. A high score means the conditions are right for plants to actually be producing nectar in their flowers. It doesn’t mean those plants are present or flowering, just that if they are, the nectar should be flowing well. 92 is very high, meaning warm soil, good temperatures, not drought-stressed.
The interesting tension in this example that nectar conditions are excellent (92: plants producing well) but nectar support is only moderate (43: the right plants aren’t strongly represented in the profile for this point in the season).
That combination means good conditions going slightly to waste. In other words, the tap is open but the pipes aren’t fully connected yet. This is a classic early-to-mid June gap signature.