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 41.5747, -70.4790
Estimated forage here is better than about 71% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (51st). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 58th percentile (spring 66th, summer 64th, fall 71st)
- Massachusetts: 71st percentile (spring 51st, summer 81st, fall 91st)
- Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 39th percentile (spring 36th, summer 50th, fall 83rd)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Massachusetts, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
- Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Season ends: Oct 15
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 56% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- 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.