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 43.8881, -69.9429
Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (96th percentile) and lowest in spring (75th). Biggest nearby bee crops: blueberries (nearest 0.5 mi N). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 53rd percentile (spring 58th, summer 65th, fall 70th)
- Maine: 87th percentile (spring 75th, summer 80th, fall 96th)
- Acadian Plains and Hills: 92nd percentile (spring 79th, summer 92nd, fall 95th)
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, Garden flowers
- Season ends: Oct 15
Bee crops nearby
- Blueberries: about 81 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
- Blueberries: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early May – early Jun
- Blueberries: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
- Blueberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
- Blueberries: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
- Blueberries: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
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, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs, Garden flowers; 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, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Garden flowers; light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 55% 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. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% 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.