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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 42.5393, -113.7899

Estimated forage here is better than about 86% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in fall (44th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi NE, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.46 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 71st percentile (spring 62nd, summer 77th, fall 74th)
  • Idaho: 86th percentile (spring 96th, summer 59th, fall 44th)
  • Snake River Plain: 81st percentile (spring 94th, summer 69th, fall 35th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 194 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 802 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 105 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 77% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.