Honey bee forage in Connell, Washington

When is the honey flow in Connell?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, weedy mustards, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Aug 31, peaking late Jun (spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Connell, 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 22.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, alfalfa, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Corn: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi , blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late May – late Sep (grown 4 of the last 5 years)
• Apples: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May
• Sweet corn: about 227 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.2 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 24 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NW, blooms late Apr – early Jun (grown 2 of the last 5 years)

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 Connell

Mostly: Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland; Interior Western North American Temperate Ruderal Grassland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland.

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.36 mi SW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.63 mi E.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 76% 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 Connell ranks

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

Nearby

Hatton 8 mi · Mesa 10 mi · Kahlotus 14 mi · Basin City 16 mi · Othello 19 mi · Warden 23 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 Connell (46.6605, -118.8406); 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.