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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 41.2951, -72.8588

Estimated forage here is better than about 74% of sites in Connecticut. Against other Connecticut sites it stands out most in fall (82nd percentile) and lowest in summer (71st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 4 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.7 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 2.0 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.1 mi NW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 59th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 58th, fall 66th)
  • Connecticut: 74th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 71st, fall 82nd)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 69th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 61st, fall 78th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Connecticut, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NE, blooms early Jun – late Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NE, 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): Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; 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. 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.
  • 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.