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 40.9800, -72.3431

Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in spring (95th percentile) and lowest in summer (62nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); pumpkins (nearest 2.3 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 2.6 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.48 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 67th, fall 73rd)
  • New York: 87th percentile (spring 95th, summer 62nd, fall 94th)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 64th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 60th, fall 88th)

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
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Pumpkins: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Pumpkins: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Pumpkins: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Sweet corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.