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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 43.5699, -70.3865

Estimated forage here is better than about 90% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (81st). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 2.8 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.27 mi N.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 56th percentile (spring 61st, summer 65th, fall 72nd)
  • Maine: 90th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 81st, fall 96th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 63rd percentile (spring 30th, summer 81st, fall 90th)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Maine, 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, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

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.