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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 40.3790, -74.4224

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in spring (72nd percentile) and lowest in summer (51st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.1 mi W, grown 1 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: 70th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 63rd, fall 61st)
  • New Jersey: 59th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 51st, fall 62nd)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 57th percentile (spring 75th, summer 47th, fall 51st)

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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 196 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, 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; 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; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.
  • 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.