community in Washington

Honey bee forage in Crescent Bar, Washington

Estimated forage here is better than about 16% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in spring (65th percentile) and lowest in summer (1st). Biggest nearby bee crops: apples (right here); cherries (nearest 0.1 mi NE); corn (nearest 1.2 mi SE, grown 1 of the last 5 years).

When is the honey flow in Crescent Bar?

  • First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, cherries)
  • Main flow: Apr 16 to Apr 30, peaking late Apr (apples)
  • Season ends: Sep 30
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Crescent Bar, 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): apples, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
  • Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, yellow starthistle, native wildflowers, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
  • Fall honey (September to November): green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed, yellow starthistle; amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
  • Whole season (March to November): apples, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, spotted and diffuse knapweed; 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

  • Apples: about 5,275 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi E, blooms early Apr – early May
  • Cherries: about 62 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late Apr

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 Crescent Bar

Mostly: Apples; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.06 mi E; pond, lake or river 0.09 mi W.

Things to watch

  • Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 76% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 93% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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 Crescent Bar ranks

Against random land inOverallSpringSummerFall
Continental US45th76th36th56th
Washington16th65th1st51st
Columbia Plateau44th91st3rd24th

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

The national forage map around Crescent Bar: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.

Nearby

Quincy 7 mi · Sunland Estates 10 mi · George 11 mi · Rock Island 13 mi · South Wenatchee 18 mi · Vantage 19 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 Crescent Bar (47.2166, -119.9966); 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.