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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 40.3132, -78.9057

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.6 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.9 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.18 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 80th, summer 64th, fall 67th)
  • Pennsylvania: 77th percentile (spring 88th, summer 65th, fall 96th)
  • Central Appalachians: 96th percentile (spring 30th, summer 97th, fall 100th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, 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 shrubs; 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, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 69% 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.