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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 42.6390, -70.7704

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (86th percentile) and lowest in spring (23rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.4 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); sweet corn (nearest 3.6 mi W, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.3 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 42nd percentile (spring 57th, summer 53rd, fall 70th)
  • Massachusetts: 40th percentile (spring 23rd, summer 47th, fall 86th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 37th percentile (spring 17th, summer 47th, fall 85th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 15 — Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Sweet corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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.