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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 47.6480, -120.0724

Estimated forage here is better than about 36% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in fall (81st percentile) and lowest in summer (29th). Biggest nearby bee crops: peas (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 2.0 mi NE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 3.0 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: 67th percentile (spring 64th, summer 73rd, fall 78th)
  • Washington: 36th percentile (spring 56th, summer 29th, fall 81st)
  • Columbia Plateau: 76th percentile (spring 83rd, summer 69th, fall 73rd)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 15 — Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Peas: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Peas: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi NW, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Canola: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Canola: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Peas: about 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi S, blooms late May – early Jul
  • Canola: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi N, blooms early May – late Jul

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Maples; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Spotted and diffuse knapweed, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 37% 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.