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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.

Or tap the map. We don't store your address or exact location.

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 46.3164, -117.9752

Estimated forage here is better than about 51% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (72nd percentile) and lowest in summer (24th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.4 mi S, grown 2 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.8 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.4 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi SE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 77th percentile (spring 90th, summer 69th, fall 52nd)
  • Washington: 51st percentile (spring 72nd, summer 24th, fall 47th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 86th percentile (spring 96th, summer 62nd, fall 19th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Maples
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Peas, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 1,170 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi S, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Peas: about 303 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Peas: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SW, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Peas: about 269 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi N, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Canola: about 234 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Peas: about 88 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 51% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • Flood map not checked. FEMA's flood map service didn't answer. Check it directly.

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.