Honey bee forage in Vantage, Washington

When is the honey flow in Vantage?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, weedy mustards)
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, native wildflowers)
• Fall flow: Aug 1 to Sep 15 (spotted and diffuse knapweed, green/yellow rabbitbrush, yellow starthistle)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Vantage, 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 23.

What the honey is made of

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

• Grapes: about 96 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late May – late Jun
• Dry beans: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi E, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 365 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.9 mi E, blooms late May – late Sep (grown 3 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 Vantage

Mostly: Open water; Inter-Mountain Basins Cliff and Canyon; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Steppe.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi E; pond, lake or river 0.24 mi E.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. 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 Vantage ranks

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

Nearby

Beverly 8 mi · Sunland Estates 9 mi · Schwana 9 mi · George 11 mi · Mattawa 15 mi · Desert Aire 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 Vantage (46.9452, -119.9921); 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.