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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 48.2948, -122.6277

Estimated forage here is better than about 62% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (76th percentile) and lowest in summer (16th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 2.9 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 2.6 mi SW, grown 2 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow, 0.13 mi NE. 1 thing to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 82nd percentile (spring 97th, summer 64th, fall 48th)
  • Washington: 62nd percentile (spring 76th, summer 16th, fall 42nd)
  • Puget Lowland: 8th percentile (spring 10th, summer 9th, fall 75th)

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

Season

  • First forage: Feb 16 — Dandelion, Maples
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Summer-flowering shrubs, Dandelion
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 35 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.1 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Alfalfa: about 31 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.2 mi SW, blooms late May – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 65 acres in a typical year, nearest 3.4 mi SW, blooms late May – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 13 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.7 mi SW, blooms late May – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms late May – early Sep
  • Alfalfa: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SW, blooms late May – early Sep

What the honey would be made of

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

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 61% 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.