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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 42.1178, -71.1808

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in spring (90th percentile) and lowest in fall (73rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.6 mi SW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); squash (nearest 1.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 1.6 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.26 mi W. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 67th percentile (spring 79th, summer 63rd, fall 64th)
  • Massachusetts: 89th percentile (spring 90th, summer 81st, fall 73rd)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 84th percentile (spring 88th, summer 75th, fall 71st)

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 1 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Squash: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Sweet corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Squash: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Squash: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Oct

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; 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 57% 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. Squash: insecticides used on about 71% of surveyed US acres (2024); Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% 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.
  • 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.