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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 48.5131, -122.2327

Estimated forage here is better than about 76% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (80th percentile) and lowest in summer (30th). Biggest nearby bee crops: corn (nearest 1.2 mi SW, grown 4 of the last 5 years); clover and wildflowers (nearest 1.4 mi S, grown 1 of the last 5 years); pumpkins (nearest 1.2 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), 0.25 mi NW. 2 things to watch (below).

Ranking

  • Continental US: 90th percentile (spring 98th, summer 73rd, fall 50th)
  • Washington: 76th percentile (spring 80th, summer 30th, fall 44th)
  • Puget Lowland: 18th percentile (spring 18th, summer 32nd, fall 79th)

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, Clovers: white, alsike and red
  • Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Summer-flowering shrubs
  • Fall flow: Jul 16 to Jul 31 — Clovers: white, alsike and red, Dandelion, Garden flowers
  • Season ends: Sep 30

Bee crops nearby

  • Corn: about 69 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Clover and wildflowers: about 9 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi S, blooms late Apr – late Aug
  • Corn: about 412 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Pumpkins: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late May – late Sep
  • Corn: about 18 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms late Jun – early Aug
  • Corn: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi W, blooms late Jun – early 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, 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; extra light amber

Things to watch

  • Heavily developed. About 87% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); Caneberries: raspberries: insecticides used on about 99% of acres in Washington (2023); Caneberries: blackberries: insecticides used on about 60% of surveyed US acres (2017). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.
  • 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.