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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 46.2423, -116.4708

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (25th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.4 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.2 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 86th percentile (spring 52nd, summer 89th, fall 62nd)
  • Idaho: 99th percentile (spring 90th, summer 99th, fall 25th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 94th percentile (spring 58th, summer 98th, fall 34th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 16 — Dandelion, Canola, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 16 to Jul 31 — Canola
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 388 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 156 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 118 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 57% 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.