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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 47.3371, -117.2312

Estimated forage here is better than about 64% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in summer (91st percentile) and lowest in spring (45th). Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.2 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); lentils (nearest 0.3 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (right here, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.19 mi E. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 56th, summer 87th, fall 70th)
  • Washington: 64th percentile (spring 45th, summer 91st, fall 70th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 91st percentile (spring 68th, summer 96th, fall 51st)

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

Season

  • First forage: Apr 1 — Dandelion, Willows, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15 — Canola, Lentils
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Canola: about 859 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 52 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 33 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi NW, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 115 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Lentils: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi S, blooms late Jun – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 55% 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.