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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 40.5194, -78.8708

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (62nd percentile) and lowest in fall (23rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.18 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 43rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 49th, fall 43rd)
  • Pennsylvania: 36th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 36th, fall 23rd)
  • Central Appalachians: 14th percentile (spring 14th, summer 87th, fall 47th)

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, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, 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, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion; extra 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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.