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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 43.0383, -75.0711

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in New York. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other New York sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.8 mi NW); alfalfa (nearest 0.9 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.6 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.16 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 70th percentile (spring 73rd, summer 72nd, fall 67th)
  • New York: 81st percentile (spring 80th, summer 75th, fall 84th)
  • Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands: 56th percentile (spring 77th, summer 43rd, fall 72nd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 72 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 110 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 64 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Sep
  • Corn: about 42 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 63 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi N, blooms early 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 51% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.