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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 43.5261, -73.2122

Estimated forage here is better than about 40% of sites in Vermont. Against other Vermont sites it stands out most in fall (87th percentile) and lowest in summer (32nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (right here); buckwheat (nearest 1.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.6 mi W, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.23 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 50th percentile (spring 64th, summer 60th, fall 53rd)
  • Vermont: 40th percentile (spring 42nd, summer 32nd, fall 87th)
  • Northeastern Highlands: 58th percentile (spring 56th, summer 49th, fall 91st)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Vermont, 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 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 49 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 106 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Buckwheat: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Oct
  • Corn: about 95 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs; light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.