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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 42.6779, -74.4864

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (66th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 75th percentile (spring 68th, summer 78th, fall 76th)
  • New York: 89th percentile (spring 66th, summer 88th, fall 96th)
  • Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands: 72nd percentile (spring 61st, summer 68th, fall 91st)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 103 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, 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), Garden flowers; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 56% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.