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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.

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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 39.5339, -74.4744

Estimated forage here is better than about 25% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: blueberries (nearest 2.7 mi SW); soybeans (nearest 3.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.6 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 44th percentile (spring 65th, summer 44th, fall 68th)
  • New Jersey: 25th percentile (spring 30th, summer 24th, fall 87th)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 26th percentile (spring 35th, summer 22nd, fall 75th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 31 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Blueberries: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Blueberries: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Blueberries: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi W, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.7 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.