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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 40.5016, -78.8570

Estimated forage here is better than about 25% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (51st percentile) and lowest in fall (20th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 35th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 42nd, fall 42nd)
  • Pennsylvania: 25th percentile (spring 51st, summer 25th, fall 20th)
  • Central Appalachians: 7th percentile (spring 9th, summer 78th, fall 38th)

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 Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Native wildflowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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