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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 47.5416, -121.8701

Estimated forage here is better than about 82% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (85th percentile) and lowest in summer (35th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 3.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 2.8 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); pumpkins (nearest 3.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.11 mi W. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 96th percentile (spring 99th, summer 76th, fall 44th)
  • Washington: 82nd percentile (spring 85th, summer 35th, fall 38th)
  • Puget Lowland: 32nd percentile (spring 35th, summer 43rd, fall 68th)

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, Maples, Willows
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Maples
  • Season ends: Sep 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 36 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Pumpkins: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Oct
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Corn: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.6 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Blueberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SE, blooms early Apr – early May

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Maples; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Himalayan blackberry; light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Garden flowers, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Summer-flowering shrubs, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Maples; light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 55% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • 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.