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 40.5284, -74.2938

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in fall (51st percentile) and lowest in summer (39th). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.19 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 56th, fall 58th)
  • New Jersey: 36th percentile (spring 45th, summer 39th, fall 51st)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 35th percentile (spring 50th, summer 34th, fall 42nd)

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 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • 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, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 99% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.