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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 40.0831, -79.8501

Estimated forage here is better than about 72% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in fall (18th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.19 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 65th percentile (spring 86th, summer 54th, fall 41st)
  • Pennsylvania: 72nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 42nd, fall 18th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 50th percentile (spring 38th, summer 62nd, fall 28th)

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 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 3 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): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.