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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 42.6590, -77.0536

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in summer and fall (95th percentile) and lowest in spring (70th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 69th, summer 83rd, fall 76th)
  • New York: 97th percentile (spring 70th, summer 95th, fall 95th)
  • Northern Allegheny Plateau: 100th percentile (spring 98th, summer 97th, fall 97th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Soybeans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 477 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 952 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 438 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 423 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 99 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • 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, Soybeans, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 65% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.
  • 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.