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 40.6358, -77.5622

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (75th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.0 mi E, 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. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 78th, summer 71st, fall 61st)
  • Pennsylvania: 82nd percentile (spring 86th, summer 75th, fall 87th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 79th percentile (spring 54th, summer 86th, fall 97th)

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, Soybeans
  • 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 0.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 609 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 242 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, 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): Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% 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.