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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 43.2210, -112.4371

Estimated forage here is better than about 89% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (92nd percentile) and lowest in fall (38th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 4 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 1.1 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.14 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 73rd percentile (spring 55th, summer 81st, fall 72nd)
  • Idaho: 89th percentile (spring 92nd, summer 79th, fall 38th)
  • Snake River Plain: 84th percentile (spring 91st, summer 81st, fall 29th)

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: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 194 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 701 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 154 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 1,464 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi NE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 128 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms early Jul – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 37% 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.