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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.

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 40.4887, -78.2429

Estimated forage here is better than about 32% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it ranks highest in spring (44th percentile) and lowest in fall (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.0 mi W); soybeans (nearest 1.1 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 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.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 40th percentile (spring 61st, summer 50th, fall 44th)
  • Pennsylvania: 32nd percentile (spring 44th, summer 37th, fall 27th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 19th percentile (spring 15th, summer 63rd, fall 54th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Pennsylvania, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 748 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 139 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 1,079 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 152 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 304 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spring-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Soybeans, Alfalfa, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.