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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 43.2451, -78.1922

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in New York. Against other New York sites it stands out most in summer (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (85th). Biggest nearby bee crops: soybeans (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 1.2 mi N). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.25 mi NE. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 76th, summer 85th, fall 69th)
  • New York: 99th percentile (spring 85th, summer 96th, fall 87th)
  • Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands: 98th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 89th, fall 75th)

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 — Soybeans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Soybeans: about 194 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 1,305 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 552 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Soybeans: about 122 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 242 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Apples: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early May – late May

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 62% 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. 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.