Honey bee forage in Terrace Heights, Washington

When is the honey flow in Terrace Heights?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, maples)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to May 15, peaking late Apr (dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, apples)
• Fall flow: Jun 1 to Jul 15 (clovers: white, alsike and red, alfalfa, dandelion)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Terrace Heights, 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 27.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, apples, alfalfa; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): alfalfa, garden flowers, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa, apples; extra 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

• Apples: about 751 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.5 mi SE, blooms late Apr – early May

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 Terrace Heights

Mostly: Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland; Columbia Basin Foothill and Canyon Dry Grassland; Apples.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi W; pond, lake or river 0.19 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 63% 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); Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Terrace Heights ranks

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

Nearby

Moxee 3 mi · Union Gap 4 mi · Yakima 5 mi · Selah 6 mi · Parker 7 mi · Donald 9 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 Terrace Heights (46.6001, -120.436); 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.