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 43.0481, -115.8678

Estimated forage here is better than about 69% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (40th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years); sunflower (nearest 2.7 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.3 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 59th percentile (spring 61st, summer 68th, fall 73rd)
  • Idaho: 69th percentile (spring 96th, summer 40th, fall 41st)
  • Snake River Plain: 68th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 51st, fall 31st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Weedy mustards
  • Main flow: Apr 1 to Sep 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Yellow starthistle
  • Season ends: Oct 31

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 616 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 122 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 32 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 191 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 60 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 66 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 72% 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.