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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 42.4527, -76.4393

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.9 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.11 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 68th, summer 72nd, fall 74th)
  • New York: 77th percentile (spring 66th, summer 74th, fall 94th)
  • Northern Allegheny Plateau: 93rd percentile (spring 96th, summer 84th, fall 96th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early May – early Oct
  • Soybeans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Clover/Wildflowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.