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 40.3500, -74.4404
Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.8 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.2 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.23 mi S. 3 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 87th, summer 68th, fall 65th)
- New Jersey: 71st percentile (spring 80th, summer 66th, fall 77th)
- Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 70th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 63rd, fall 65th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across New Jersey, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
- Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Soybeans: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Soybeans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Aug
- Corn: about 196 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
- Corn: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – 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; extra 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 71% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024); Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
- Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.
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.