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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 40.1919, -79.9215

Estimated forage here is better than about 88% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in summer (59th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.33 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 62nd, fall 54th)
  • Pennsylvania: 88th percentile (spring 98th, summer 59th, fall 64th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 87th percentile (spring 75th, summer 77th, fall 88th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – late 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 trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

  • Heavily developed. About 52% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.