Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 42.5062, -78.6672

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (69th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.5 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 76th percentile (spring 69th, summer 77th, fall 78th)
  • New York: 90th percentile (spring 69th, summer 87th, fall 97th)
  • Northern Allegheny Plateau: 98th percentile (spring 97th, summer 92nd, fall 98th)

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)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Dry beans: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Peas: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi NE, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Dry beans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Peas: about 51 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late May – 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), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Dry Beans; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 52% 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 (A, 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.