Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 41.7058, -76.8265

Estimated forage here is better than about 59% of sites in Pennsylvania. Against other Pennsylvania sites it stands out most in fall (93rd percentile) and lowest in spring (37th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.1 mi SE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 60th, summer 68th, fall 64th)
  • Pennsylvania: 59th percentile (spring 37th, summer 70th, fall 93rd)
  • Northern Allegheny Plateau: 79th percentile (spring 75th, summer 78th, fall 78th)

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), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 177 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.