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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 42.7179, -70.8650

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in fall (92nd percentile) and lowest in spring (36th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.2 mi SW); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); pumpkins (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 57th, fall 71st)
  • Massachusetts: 51st percentile (spring 36th, summer 58th, fall 92nd)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 49th percentile (spring 32nd, summer 57th, fall 90th)

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Pumpkins: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Oct
  • Sweet corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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.
  • Near a FEMA high-risk flood zone. A mapped high-risk flood zone (AE) is within about 300 m. Check FEMA's map for the exact spot.

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.