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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.

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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 42.6549, -79.0505

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (73rd percentile) and lowest in summer (47th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.7 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.3 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 2.4 mi SE). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 55th percentile (spring 66th, summer 62nd, fall 63rd)
  • New York: 51st percentile (spring 60th, summer 47th, fall 73rd)
  • Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands: 21st percentile (spring 53rd, summer 17th, fall 56th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Grapes: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Jul
  • Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering shrubs; 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.

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.