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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 48.0661, -123.1268

Estimated forage here is better than about 77% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (39th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.8 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.8 mi NE, grown 2 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: 92nd percentile (spring 98th, summer 77th, fall 62nd)
  • Washington: 77th percentile (spring 80th, summer 39th, fall 59th)
  • Puget Lowland: 21st percentile (spring 18th, summer 52nd, fall 98th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Mar 1 — Dandelion, Maples, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi NE, blooms late May – late Sep
  • Corn: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.5 mi NE, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.3 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug
  • Corn: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Aug

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 76% 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.