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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 40.3737, -78.4260

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in summer (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 80th, summer 65th, fall 63rd)
  • Pennsylvania: 77th percentile (spring 88th, summer 66th, fall 92nd)
  • Ridge and Valley: 74th percentile (spring 59th, summer 80th, fall 98th)

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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 86 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SE, blooms late 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; 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.