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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 45.9241, -116.1211

Estimated forage here is better than about 96% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (96th percentile) and lowest in summer (83rd). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.8 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.4 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); millet (nearest 0.8 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 80th percentile (spring 62nd, summer 82nd, fall 95th)
  • Idaho: 96th percentile (spring 96th, summer 83rd, fall 87th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 90th percentile (spring 79th, summer 89th, fall 97th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 15 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 116 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 50% 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.