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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 40.2714, -79.8884

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (91st percentile) and lowest in summer (46th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.4 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.7 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 3.2 mi S, 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: 64th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 56th, fall 53rd)
  • Pennsylvania: 71st percentile (spring 91st, summer 46th, fall 59th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 47th percentile (spring 26th, summer 65th, fall 86th)

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, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 56% 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.