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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 43.6611, -70.7421

Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in summer (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.0 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 3.2 mi N). Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river, 0.13 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 40th percentile (spring 54th, summer 57th, fall 61st)
  • Maine: 64th percentile (spring 60th, summer 56th, fall 94th)
  • Northeastern Coastal Zone: 33rd percentile (spring 8th, summer 56th, fall 61st)

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)
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Apples: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms early May – late May
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi W, blooms late Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 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, 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); light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), 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.