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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 40.9651, -78.2867

Estimated forage here is better than about 58% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 1.7 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.8 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.21 mi W.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 69th, summer 59th, fall 64th)
  • Pennsylvania: 58th percentile (spring 75th, summer 52nd, fall 93rd)
  • Central Appalachians: 57th percentile (spring 20th, summer 94th, fall 99th)

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 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms late Jun – late 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 trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); 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

  • 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.