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 39.5937, -78.8361

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (23rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.5 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.8 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.0 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.13 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 89th, summer 56th, fall 59th)
  • Maryland: 37th percentile (spring 85th, summer 23rd, fall 87th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 77th percentile (spring 81st, summer 70th, fall 95th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 44 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug

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 shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; 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.