city in Washington
Honey bee forage in Electric City, Washington
Estimated forage here is better than about 8% of sites in Washington. Against other Washington sites it stands out most in fall (77th percentile) and lowest in summer (5th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (right here, grown 3 of the last 5 years); apples (nearest 0.1 mi SW); peas (nearest 0.4 mi SW, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Electric City?
- First forage: Mar 1 (willows, dandelion)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking early May (native wildflowers, alfalfa, spotted and diffuse knapweed)
- Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 (alfalfa, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Electric City, 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 May 5.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): native wildflowers, willows, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, alfalfa, native wildflowers, snowberry; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): alfalfa, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, native wildflowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Alfalfa: about 73 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Oct (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
- Apples: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.1 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early May
- Peas: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jun (grown 1 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 Electric City
Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe; Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.11 mi NW; pond, lake or river 0.15 mi N.
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 76% of acres in Washington (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 Electric City ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 35th | 48th | 51st | 76th |
| Washington | 8th | 32nd | 5th | 77th |
| Columbia Plateau | 24th | 48th | 16th | 67th |
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 Electric City: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Grand Coulee 3 mi · Coulee Dam 5 mi · Elmer City 7 mi · Almira 15 mi · Hartline 16 mi · Nespelem Community 17 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 Electric City (47.913, -119.0461); 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.