Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 43.2529, -70.8859

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in New Hampshire. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other New Hampshire sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.7 mi W); sweet corn (nearest 2.5 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 3.7 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 3 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 66th percentile (spring 71st, summer 68th, fall 71st)
  • New Hampshire: 98th percentile (spring 90th, summer 91st, fall 99th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 81st percentile (spring 66th, summer 88th, fall 88th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 16 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 70 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 22 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi W, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Sweet corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi E, blooms late Jul – early Aug
  • Corn: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi E, blooms late 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), Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, 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, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% 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). 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 (A) 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.