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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 41.6641, -78.8096

Estimated forage here is better than about 67% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sunflower (nearest 1.7 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.1 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.48 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 61st percentile (spring 64th, summer 69th, fall 68th)
  • Pennsylvania: 67th percentile (spring 56th, summer 72nd, fall 97th)
  • North Central Appalachians: 99th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 100th, fall 99th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Pennsylvania, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Sunflower: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Soybeans: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Sunflower: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 56 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 21 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; 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, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra 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 52% 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.