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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 41.2657, -75.9308

Estimated forage here is better than about 54% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (43rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.3 mi S); pears (nearest 2.7 mi NE); alfalfa (nearest 2.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.68 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 52nd percentile (spring 69th, summer 54th, fall 61st)
  • Pennsylvania: 54th percentile (spring 76th, summer 43rd, fall 85th)
  • Ridge and Valley: 42nd percentile (spring 35th, summer 68th, fall 96th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Pennsylvania, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 237 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Pears: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early May
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early 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; 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pears: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.