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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 42.3275, -72.6750

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Massachusetts. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Massachusetts sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); squash (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 2.3 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi N. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 77th, summer 66th, fall 67th)
  • Massachusetts: 90th percentile (spring 84th, summer 89th, fall 80th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 85th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 82nd, fall 79th)

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 Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Squash: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Corn: about 373 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, 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 59% 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); Cucumbers: insecticides used on about 36% 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.
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.