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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 40.5333, -74.5734

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in summer (78th percentile) and lowest in spring (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.1 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 80th, summer 73rd, fall 63rd)
  • New Jersey: 67th percentile (spring 65th, summer 78th, fall 73rd)
  • Northern Piedmont: 48th percentile (spring 50th, summer 54th, fall 82nd)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Sorghum: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Soybeans; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 66% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.