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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 40.0339, -79.6634

Estimated forage here is better than about 84% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 2 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: 74th percentile (spring 90th, summer 63rd, fall 49th)
  • Pennsylvania: 84th percentile (spring 96th, summer 60th, fall 40th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 79th percentile (spring 58th, summer 78th, fall 68th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.