Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 40.5406, -74.5894

Estimated forage here is better than about 63% of sites in New Jersey. Against other New Jersey sites it stands out most in fall (79th percentile) and lowest in spring (65th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); sorghum (nearest 1.8 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi S. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 80th, summer 69th, fall 65th)
  • New Jersey: 63rd percentile (spring 65th, summer 69th, fall 79th)
  • Northern Piedmont: 40th percentile (spring 49th, summer 44th, fall 86th)

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 Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 15 — Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Soybeans; 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 75% 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) 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.