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 40.7060, -79.5891

Estimated forage here is better than about 47% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in fall (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.5 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 48th percentile (spring 77th, summer 41st, fall 38th)
  • Pennsylvania: 47th percentile (spring 85th, summer 23rd, fall 13th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 5th percentile (spring 14th, summer 40th, fall 16th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early 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), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), 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): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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.