Honey bee forage in Pataha, Washington

When is the honey flow in Pataha?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: May 1 to Aug 31, peaking early Jul (spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Pataha, 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): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), canola; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), snowberry, yellow starthistle; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, yellow starthistle, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Canola: about 47 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi E, blooms late Apr – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Chickpeas: about 120 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, blooms late Jun – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 1 mi N, 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 Pataha

Mostly: Interior Western North American Temperate Ruderal Grassland; Winter Wheat; Fallow / idle cropland.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi N; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.09 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Lots of crops with little or no bee value. About 37% of the land within 3 miles is in crops bees get little from (such as wheat and other grains).
• 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 Pataha ranks

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

Nearby

Pomeroy 2 mi · Colton 21 mi · Uniontown 22 mi · Clarkston Heights-Vineland 23 mi · Dayton 23 mi · West Clarkston-Highland 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 Pataha (46.4727, -117.5443); 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.