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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.

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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 41.9966, -70.7213

Estimated forage here is better than about 91% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (81st). Biggest nearby bee crops: cranberries (nearest 1.8 mi W). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 69th percentile (spring 76th, summer 67th, fall 73rd)
  • Massachusetts: 91st percentile (spring 81st, summer 93rd, fall 94th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 87th percentile (spring 80th, summer 86th, fall 93rd)

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
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Cranberries: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Cranberries: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, 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, Dandelion, Garden flowers, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 62% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.