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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 46.2979, -118.3116

Estimated forage here is better than about 37% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (69th percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi E, grown 3 of the last 5 years); grapes (nearest 0.4 mi E). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.21 mi S. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 82nd, summer 64th, fall 38th)
  • Washington: 37th percentile (spring 69th, summer 16th, fall 31st)
  • Columbia Plateau: 76th percentile (spring 93rd, summer 47th, fall 8th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Peas: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 162 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul
  • Grapes: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi E, blooms early Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 42% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.