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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 47.7036, -117.0375

Estimated forage here is better than about 98% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (98th percentile) and lowest in fall (64th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 0.3 mi N, grown 4 of the last 5 years); canola (nearest 1.7 mi N, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.37 mi SW. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 85th percentile (spring 72nd, summer 84th, fall 85th)
  • Idaho: 98th percentile (spring 98th, summer 90th, fall 64th)
  • Northern Rockies: 92nd percentile (spring 96th, summer 70th, fall 90th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 16 — Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: May 1 to Jul 31 — Snowberry, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Aug 31 — Snowberry, Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 48 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 87 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Canola: about 5 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Apr – early Jul
  • Alfalfa: about 25 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 29 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.9 mi NE, blooms late Jun – early Oct

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Snowberry, Serviceberry; light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Snowberry, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber
  • Fall honey (September to November): Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers; extra light amber
  • Whole season (March to November): Snowberry, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 57% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the 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.