Honey bee forage in Amboy, Washington

When is the honey flow in Amboy?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), willows)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15, peaking late Apr (summer-flowering shrubs, maples, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Fall flow: Jul 1 to Jul 15 (summer-flowering shrubs, himalayan blackberry)
• Season ends: Sep 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Amboy, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on Apr 21.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering shrubs, maples, himalayan blackberry, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
• Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, himalayan blackberry, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): summer-flowering shrubs, maples, himalayan blackberry, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Blueberries: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi SW, blooms early Apr – early May
• Grapes: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi SW, blooms late May – late Jun

From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.

The land and water around Amboy

Mostly: North Pacific Broadleaf Landslide Forest; Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; North Pacific Maritime Mesic-Wet Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 91% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025). 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.

How Amboy ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 73% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Yacolt 5 mi · Lewisville 7 mi · Cherry Grove 9 mi · Venersborg 9 mi · La Center 10 mi · Battle Ground 10 mi

All towns in Washington · National map · How the scoring works

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. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Amboy (45.9159, -122.4889); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.