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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 42.8101, -77.2594

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (27th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.17 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 54th, summer 78th, fall 78th)
  • New York: 77th percentile (spring 27th, summer 89th, fall 97th)
  • Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands: 49th percentile (spring 21st, summer 70th, fall 93rd)

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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Clover/Wildflowers
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 50 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms early May – early Oct
  • Soybeans: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 84 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 197 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NE, blooms early Jul – early Aug

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Soybeans, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Soybeans, Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers; extra 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.