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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 47.7677, -116.8007

Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Idaho. Against other Idaho sites it stands out most in spring (99th percentile) and lowest in summer (84th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.0 mi N, grown 2 of the last 5 years); peas (nearest 2.1 mi NW, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: open water, 0.51 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 87th percentile (spring 78th, summer 83rd, fall 97th)
  • Idaho: 99th percentile (spring 99th, summer 84th, fall 91st)
  • Northern Rockies: 94th percentile (spring 98th, summer 57th, fall 96th)

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: Apr 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 — Alfalfa, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Oct 15

Bee crops nearby

  • Alfalfa: about 488 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 230 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 249 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.5 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Peas: about 76 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms late May – late Jun
  • Alfalfa: about 346 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi NW, blooms late Jun – early Oct
  • Alfalfa: about 26 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi N, blooms late Jun – early Oct

What the honey would be made of

  • Spring honey (March to June): Dandelion, Clovers: white, alsike and red, Garden flowers, Lindens / basswood; extra light amber
  • Summer honey (July and August): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Alfalfa, Dandelion, Garden flowers; 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): Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Alfalfa, Garden flowers; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 88% 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.