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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 46.2688, -118.1519

Estimated forage here is better than about 39% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (71st percentile) and lowest in summer (13th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.8 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 0.5 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); camelina (nearest 0.7 mi SE, 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: 70th percentile (spring 88th, summer 62nd, fall 42nd)
  • Washington: 39th percentile (spring 71st, summer 13th, fall 36th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 79th percentile (spring 95th, summer 40th, fall 11th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard)
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 78 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Peas: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 112 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi S, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 474 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 195 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 55% 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.