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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 42.6121, -77.0916

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (68th percentile) and lowest in spring (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: grapes (nearest 0.4 mi SW); soybeans (nearest 1.4 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.2 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.15 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 47th percentile (spring 54th, summer 64th, fall 61st)
  • New York: 37th percentile (spring 28th, summer 54th, fall 68th)
  • Northern Allegheny Plateau: 61st percentile (spring 50th, summer 70th, fall 62nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Grapes: about 407 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Soybeans: about 442 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Grapes: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Grapes: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Grapes: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi E, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Grapes: about 89 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi SE, blooms early Jun – early Jul

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); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Soybeans, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.
  • 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.