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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 46.9096, -67.8326

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in Maine. Against other Maine sites it stands out most in fall (98th percentile) and lowest in spring (6th). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 0.6 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.0 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.24 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 49th percentile (spring 37th, summer 71st, fall 87th)
  • Maine: 82nd percentile (spring 6th, summer 92nd, fall 98th)
  • Acadian Plains and Hills: 88th percentile (spring 5th, summer 96th, fall 97th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Early trees (maple, willow, poplar)
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa
  • Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 — Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 68 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Sep

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): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Clover/Wildflowers, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Clover/Wildflowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 36% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.