Arcadia Bees
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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 46.5191, -67.8717

Estimated forage here is better than about 87% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (39th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.6 mi NE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); soybeans (nearest 0.4 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 1.4 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.17 mi NE.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 53rd percentile (spring 48th, summer 70th, fall 76th)
  • Maine: 87th percentile (spring 39th, summer 91st, fall 97th)
  • Acadian Plains and Hills: 92nd percentile (spring 41st, summer 96th, 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 — Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Soybeans: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Early trees (maple, willow, poplar), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Summer-flowering trees (locust, linden); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Clover/Wildflowers; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar); extra light amber

Things to watch

  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.