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 46.0028, -68.4400

Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (94th percentile) and lowest in spring (61st). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 0.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.5 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 1.2 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, less than 0.1 mi away.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 48th percentile (spring 54th, summer 66th, fall 61st)
  • Maine: 81st percentile (spring 61st, summer 82nd, fall 94th)
  • Acadian Plains and Hills: 87th percentile (spring 64th, summer 92nd, fall 92nd)

Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Maine, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late 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, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden), Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Summer-flowering shrubs; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Clovers: white, alsike and red, 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.