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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 42.7426, -71.1803

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Massachusetts. Against other Massachusetts sites it stands out most in summer and fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (77th). Biggest nearby bee crops: sweet corn (nearest 1.1 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 3.0 mi E, grown 4 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 2.8 mi E). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 74th, summer 67th, fall 73rd)
  • Massachusetts: 90th percentile (spring 77th, summer 94th, fall 94th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 86th percentile (spring 76th, summer 88th, fall 92nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Sweet corn: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Apples: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms late Apr – late May
  • Sweet corn: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 77% 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. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024); Apples: 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.