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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Forage on the map in —

National map

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 41.6140, -70.4675

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (99th percentile) and lowest in spring (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cranberries (nearest 2.8 mi NE). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.35 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 70th, summer 70th, fall 77th)
Massachusetts: 90th percentile (spring 64th, summer 97th, fall 99th)
Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 55th percentile (spring 46th, summer 69th, fall 94th)

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: May 1 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

Bee crops nearby

Cranberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

Heavily developed. About 59% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.

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.