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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 47.6712, -117.8782

Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in fall (84th percentile) and lowest in summer (42nd). Biggest nearby bee crops: mustard (nearest 1.2 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 0.5 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years); chickpeas (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.18 mi N. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 74th percentile (spring 64th, summer 78th, fall 81st)
  • Washington: 45th percentile (spring 56th, summer 42nd, fall 84th)
  • Columbia Plateau: 83rd percentile (spring 83rd, summer 79th, fall 79th)

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

Season

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

Bee crops nearby

  • Mustard: about 80 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi N, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Canola: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Mustard: about 38 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
  • Chickpeas: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early Jul – early Aug
  • Canola: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi NE, blooms early May – late Jul
  • Peas: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.5 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 53% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
  • No digital FEMA flood map here. FEMA has no digital flood map for this area. Ask the county, and look for low ground near creeks before placing hives.

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.