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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 40.9069, -77.8780

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in spring (79th percentile) and lowest in summer (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.1 mi S, 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: 51st percentile (spring 71st, summer 50th, fall 57th)
  • Pennsylvania: 51st percentile (spring 79th, summer 38th, fall 75th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 39th percentile (spring 38th, summer 63rd, 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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 270 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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