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 44.8282, -68.7913
Estimated forage here is better than about 95% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (76th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.1 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.16 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 62nd percentile (spring 59th, summer 72nd, fall 78th)
- Maine: 95th percentile (spring 76th, summer 93rd, fall 97th)
- Acadian Plains and Hills: 97th percentile (spring 80th, summer 97th, fall 96th)
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 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Season ends: Oct 15
Bee crops nearby
- Corn: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NW, blooms late Jul – late Aug
- Corn: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi NW, 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), Garden flowers; 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; extra light amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 62% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- 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.