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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.

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 40.2429, -79.5821

Estimated forage here is better than about 79% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in summer (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.19 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 65th, fall 57th)
  • Pennsylvania: 79th percentile (spring 90th, summer 66th, fall 77th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 67th percentile (spring 24th, summer 83rd, fall 93rd)

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 Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – 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; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Alfalfa; 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, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.