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 42.5995, -114.7611

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (52nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 2 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.22 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 68th, summer 86th, fall 79th)
  • Idaho: 98th percentile (spring 98th, summer 95th, fall 52nd)
  • Snake River Plain: 98th percentile (spring 96th, summer 94th, fall 43rd)

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

  • Corn: about 1,500 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 226 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 244 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 75 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 163 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 59% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.