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 39.6303, -78.0229

Estimated forage here is better than about 19% of sites in Maryland. Against other Maryland sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in summer (23rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.3 mi N). 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: 58th percentile (spring 76th, summer 55th, fall 52nd)
  • Maryland: 19th percentile (spring 54th, summer 23rd, fall 67th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 53rd percentile (spring 51st, summer 69th, fall 80th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – 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 shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 77% 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.
  • 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.