Arcadia Bees
Nucs Queens About Nuc guide Forage Contact Join waitlist

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 46.7294, -116.9987

Estimated forage here is better than about 97% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in fall (49th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.9 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.24 mi S. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 74th, summer 82nd, fall 77th)
  • Idaho: 97th percentile (spring 99th, summer 81st, fall 49th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 91st percentile (spring 90th, summer 88th, fall 69th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Canola
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 323 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Canola: about 223 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Canola: about 943 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 231 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Chickpeas: about 457 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi S, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Canola: about 93 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NE, blooms late Apr – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Canola, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Chick Peas, Canola, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Canola, Garden flowers; 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).
  • Heavily developed. About 96% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.