Honey bee forage in Fobes Hill, Washington

When is the honey flow in Fobes Hill?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, maples)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 15, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Fobes Hill, 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 12.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, maples; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, maples; 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

• Blueberries: about 1,664 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi S, blooms early Apr – late Apr
• Corn: about 145 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi S, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 5 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 19 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi W, blooms late Mar – early Jun (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Pumpkins: about 8 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi W, blooms late May – late Sep (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 Fobes Hill

Mostly: Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh; Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns).

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.19 mi N.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 66% 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. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 91% of acres in Washington (2025); Pumpkins: insecticides used on about 75% of surveyed US acres (2024); 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 Fobes Hill ranks

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

Nearby

Snohomish 2 mi · Bunk Foss 2 mi · Everett 3 mi · Cavalero 4 mi · Eastmont 4 mi · Lake Stevens 5 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 Fobes Hill (47.9392, -122.1341); 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.