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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 42.5205, -113.6292

Estimated forage here is better than about 44% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (57th percentile) and lowest in fall (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 42nd percentile (spring 27th, summer 73rd, fall 66th)
  • Idaho: 44th percentile (spring 57th, summer 50th, fall 30th)
  • Snake River Plain: 50th percentile (spring 47th, summer 60th, fall 21st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Jul 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 126 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 372 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Dry beans: about 67 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 37 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Dry beans: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Dry Beans; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Dry Beans, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Dry Beans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 49% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • 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.