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 40.8529, -79.9553

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (100th percentile) and lowest in summer (83rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.8 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 84th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 76th, fall 74th)
  • Pennsylvania: 97th percentile (spring 97th, summer 83rd, fall 100th)
  • Western Allegheny Plateau: 99th percentile (spring 65th, summer 95th, fall 100th)

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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 158 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, 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), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Soybeans; 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, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 76% 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.