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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 41.7682, -71.4860

Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in Rhode Island. Against other Rhode Island sites it stands out most in fall (90th percentile) and lowest in spring (60th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sweet corn (nearest 1.9 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.8 mi W); pumpkins (nearest 2.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.16 mi SW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 67th, summer 61st, fall 67th)
  • Rhode Island: 80th percentile (spring 60th, summer 87th, fall 90th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 63rd percentile (spring 53rd, summer 68th, fall 79th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Sweet corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Apples: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms late Apr – early May
  • Sweet corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 68% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024); Apples: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

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.