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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 47.0824, -119.8637

Estimated forage here is better than about 74% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in fall (97th percentile) and lowest in spring (57th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.1 mi NW, grown 3 of the last 5 years); dry beans (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); corn (nearest 0.5 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.22 mi S.

Ranking

  • Continental US: 89th percentile (spring 65th, summer 88th, fall 97th)
  • Washington: 74th percentile (spring 57th, summer 96th, fall 97th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 97th percentile (spring 84th, summer 97th, fall 98th)

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, Willows, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15 — Alfalfa, Dry Beans
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 1,661 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – late Sep
  • Dry beans: about 208 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep
  • Corn: about 119 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi N, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Corn: about 398 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – late Aug
  • Peas: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 715 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Sep

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Alfalfa, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Peas; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Alfalfa, Dry Beans; white
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa; white
  • Whole season (March to November): Alfalfa, Dry Beans, Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red; white

Things to watch

  • 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.