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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 42.6752, -73.1184

Estimated forage here is better than about 70% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in spring (76th percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.7 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 58th percentile (spring 74th, summer 61st, fall 45th)
  • Massachusetts: 70th percentile (spring 76th, summer 71st, fall 38th)
  • Northeastern Highlands: 75th percentile (spring 84th, summer 53rd, fall 84th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden)
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 28 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi S, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Spring-flowering shrubs, Dandelion; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.