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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 41.2081, -74.6086

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in New Jersey. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other New Jersey sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 72nd percentile (spring 80th, summer 68th, fall 64th)
  • New Jersey: 62nd percentile (spring 66th, summer 66th, fall 75th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 79th percentile (spring 59th, summer 84th, fall 98th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across New Jersey, 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

  • Corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 30 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra 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.