Honey bee forage in Quincy, Washington

When is the honey flow in Quincy?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, maples, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 31, peaking early May (alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, dry Beans)
• Fall flow: Sep 16 to Sep 30 (alfalfa)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Quincy, 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 30.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa, apples; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, dry Beans, sunflower, clovers: white, alsike and red; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): alfalfa, garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; white, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, dry Beans; extra 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

• Apples: about 597 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms late Apr – early May
• Alfalfa: about 334 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi NE, blooms early Jun – early Oct (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Corn: about 213 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi SE, blooms early Jul – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 20 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms late Jun – late Aug (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 Quincy

Mostly: Apples; Alfalfa; Developed, low intensity (houses and yards).

Nearest mapped water: open water 0.49 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.57 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 73% 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). 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 Quincy ranks

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

Nearby

Crescent Bar 7 mi · George 11 mi · Sunland Estates 14 mi · Ephrata 16 mi · Rock Island 17 mi · Lakeview 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 Quincy (47.2359, -119.8491); 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.