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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 40.6982, -76.1665

Estimated forage here is better than about 55% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (81st percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 2.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.8 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 2.6 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.25 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 53rd percentile (spring 73rd, summer 53rd, fall 57th)
  • Pennsylvania: 55th percentile (spring 81st, summer 42nd, fall 74th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 44th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 67th, fall 92nd)

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 Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sorghum: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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