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 46.4160, -117.0504
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 (12th). Biggest nearby bee crops: chickpeas (nearest 2.9 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 3.0 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.62 mi E. 2 things to watch (below).
Ranking
- Continental US: 68th percentile (spring 84th, summer 60th, fall 51st)
- Washington: 37th percentile (spring 69th, summer 12th, fall 46th)
- Columbia Plateau: 76th percentile (spring 94th, summer 36th, fall 18th)
Percentile among 3,000 random land points across Washington, scored the same way; land in general, not beekeepers' yards.
Season
- First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
- Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 31 — Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
- Season ends: Sep 30
Bee crops nearby
- Chickpeas: about 164 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
- Canola: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi N, blooms late Mar – early Jun
- Canola: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi NW, blooms late Mar – early Jun
- Chickpeas: about 41 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
- Canola: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NW, blooms late Mar – early Jun
- Alfalfa: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late May – late Jul
What the honey would be made of
- Spring honey (March to June): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
- Summer honey (July and August): Garden flowers, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Yellow starthistle; light amber
- Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber
- Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Yellow starthistle; extra light amber
Things to watch
- Heavily developed. About 81% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
- 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.
- 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.