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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 40.5657, -78.4508

Estimated forage here is better than about 35% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.3 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.2 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 42nd percentile (spring 65th, summer 44th, fall 60th)
  • Pennsylvania: 35th percentile (spring 63rd, summer 28th, fall 82nd)
  • Central Appalachians: 14th percentile (spring 14th, summer 81st, fall 96th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Spring-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Spring-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Native wildflowers; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Summer-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); 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.