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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 41.7461, -70.7196

Estimated forage here is better than about 61% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: cranberries (nearest 1.0 mi NW). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 54th percentile (spring 64th, summer 61st, fall 69th)
  • Massachusetts: 61st percentile (spring 45th, summer 71st, fall 84th)
  • Atlantic Coastal Pine Barrens: 34th percentile (spring 33rd, summer 44th, fall 76th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Cranberries: about 83 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 40 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 131 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 30 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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 58% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.