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 47.3425, -68.3345

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 (28th). Biggest nearby bee crops: clover and wildflowers (nearest 2.0 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 2.6 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 3.1 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.21 mi E.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 53rd percentile (spring 44th, summer 73rd, fall 74th)
  • Maine: 87th percentile (spring 28th, summer 95th, fall 97th)
  • Acadian Plains and Hills: 92nd percentile (spring 26th, summer 97th, fall 95th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Clover and wildflowers: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi SE, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SW, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi SE, blooms late May – late Oct
  • Mustard: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Jul
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi SW, blooms late May – late Oct

What the honey would be made of

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