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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 40.4232, -74.5856

Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.3 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 2.3 mi NE, grown 3 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: 76th percentile (spring 89th, summer 65th, fall 65th)
  • New Jersey: 71st percentile (spring 84th, summer 57th, fall 80th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 53rd percentile (spring 76th, summer 32nd, fall 87th)

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 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • 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 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi N, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (A) 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.