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 40.2634, -74.4822

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in summer (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 81st percentile (spring 81st, summer 80th, fall 56th)
  • New Jersey: 86th percentile (spring 66th, summer 90th, fall 40th)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 85th percentile (spring 69th, summer 89th, fall 33rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 438 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Pumpkins; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% 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.