Honey bee forage in Kevin, Montana

When is the honey flow in Kevin?

• First forage: Apr 1 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers)
• Main flow: May 1 to Sep 15, peaking early Jul (clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion)
• Fall flow: Oct 1 to Oct 15 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa)
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Kevin, 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 22.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), alfalfa, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); 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

• Chickpeas: about 160 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 217 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi SE, blooms late May – early Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Canola: about 10 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.2 mi SW, blooms early May – late Jul (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 34 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NW, blooms late Jun – late Oct (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 Kevin

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Inter-Mountain Basins Mat Saltbush Shrubland; Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.12 mi NW; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.13 mi NW.

How Kevin ranks

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

About 57% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.

Nearby

Sunburst 9 mi · Rimrock Colony 12 mi · Horizon Colony 12 mi · Glacier Colony 13 mi · Santa Rita 16 mi · Hillside Colony 17 mi

All towns in Montana · 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 Kevin (48.7456, -111.9658); 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.