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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 46.0506, -116.3514

Estimated forage here is better than about 95% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in summer (94th percentile) and lowest in fall (67th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.4 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi W); chickpeas (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.12 mi S. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 79th percentile (spring 49th, summer 85th, fall 87th)
  • Idaho: 95th percentile (spring 88th, summer 94th, fall 67th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 89th percentile (spring 51st, summer 94th, fall 89th)

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 16 to Aug 31 — Alfalfa, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 43 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 167 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 138 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi W, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 132 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Canola: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 44% 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.