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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 what blooms within flight range (about 3.7 miles, with nearer land counting more) and when, the gaps in the season, 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.

Forage report for 42.3413, -71.0581

Estimated forage here is better than about 0% of sites in Massachusetts. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Massachusetts sites. Expect a dearth from late May to early Jun. Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.17 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 1st percentile (spring 3rd, summer 6th, fall 12th)
  • Massachusetts: 0th percentile (spring 0th, summer 0th, fall 2nd)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 0th percentile (spring 0th, summer 0th, fall 1st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Dearth: Apr 16 to Apr 30
  • Dearth: May 16 to Jun 15
  • Season ends: Sep 30

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra 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; extra 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 98% 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.