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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.

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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 40.6545, -79.3014

Estimated forage here is better than about 65% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (76th percentile) and lowest in fall (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 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: 60th percentile (spring 69th, summer 66th, fall 48th)
  • Pennsylvania: 65th percentile (spring 76th, summer 68th, fall 37th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 32nd percentile (spring 8th, summer 84th, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 139 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • 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.