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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 40.4321, -74.2016

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (55th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.23 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 78th, summer 65th, fall 66th)
  • New Jersey: 55th percentile (spring 61st, summer 55th, fall 82nd)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 54th percentile (spring 64th, summer 53rd, fall 70th)

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
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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 83% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.