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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 40.8974, -73.1606

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (75th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.42 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 93rd, summer 72nd, fall 75th)
New York: 97th percentile (spring 99th, summer 75th, fall 95th)
Northeastern Coastal Zone: 98th percentile (spring 99th, summer 94th, fall 96th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across New York, 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
Fall flow: Jul 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 65% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.