Honey bee forage in West Richland, Washington

When is the honey flow in West Richland?

• First forage: Mar 1 (dandelion, cherries, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 15, peaking late Jun (buckwheat, alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of West Richland, 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 14.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, alfalfa, buckwheat; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Summer honey (July and August): buckwheat, alfalfa, spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red; amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Fall honey (September to November): buckwheat, green/yellow rabbitbrush, garden flowers, rubber rabbitbrush; dark amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): buckwheat, alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; 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

• Sweet corn: about 172 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.4 mi W, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 2 of the last 5 years)
• Apples: about 144 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late Apr
• Buckwheat: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.6 mi W, blooms early Jun – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Cherries: about 58 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.4 mi NE, blooms late Mar – early Apr

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 West Richland

Mostly: Grapes; Inter-Mountain Basins Big Sagebrush Shrubland; Developed, low intensity (houses and yards).

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.32 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.75 mi N.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Apples: insecticides used on about 76% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 93% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (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 West Richland ranks

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

Nearby

Richland 5 mi · Benton City 6 mi · West Pasco 11 mi · Kennewick 13 mi · Pasco 13 mi · Finley 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 West Richland (46.3138, -119.3877); 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.