Honey bee forage in Ephrata, Washington

When is the honey flow in Ephrata?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, maples)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking early May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 15 (garden flowers, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Ephrata, 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 29.

What the honey is made of

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

• Alfalfa: about 169 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi N, blooms early Jun – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Apples: about 91 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, blooms late Apr – early May
• Cherries: about 17 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.3 mi SW, 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 Ephrata

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

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.36 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 1.23 mi W.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 71% 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. 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 Ephrata ranks

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

Nearby

Lakeview 5 mi · Soap Lake 6 mi · Moses Lake North 13 mi · Cascade Valley 15 mi · Quincy 16 mi · Moses Lake 18 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 Ephrata (47.3123, -119.5343); 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.