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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 44.0174, -116.9208

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (22nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 2 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.2 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.18 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 70th, summer 83rd, fall 61st)
  • Idaho: 96th percentile (spring 98th, summer 83rd, fall 22nd)
  • Snake River Plain: 93rd percentile (spring 96th, summer 84th, fall 15th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 560 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 134 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Aug
  • Dry beans: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 63% 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.