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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 46.7728, -118.8282

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in fall (67th percentile) and lowest in summer (31st). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 1.5 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.8 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 1.4 mi NW, 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: 74th percentile (spring 75th, summer 74th, fall 68th)
  • Washington: 45th percentile (spring 65th, summer 31st, fall 67th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 83rd percentile (spring 91st, summer 72nd, fall 45th)

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: Apr 1 to Aug 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 79 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Canola: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms early Apr – late Jun
  • Peas: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi E, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Peas: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Corn: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi NW, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Peas: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun

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, Weedy mustards; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Green/yellow rabbitbrush; light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Dandelion; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • 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.