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 40.6209, -77.5692

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (77th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.29 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 73rd, fall 64th)
  • Pennsylvania: 86th percentile (spring 90th, summer 77th, fall 93rd)
  • Ridge and Valley: 86th percentile (spring 61st, summer 87th, fall 98th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Pennsylvania, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 433 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 607 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 57 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, 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 64% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.