Honey bee forage in St. Marie, Montana

When is the honey flow in St. Marie?

• First forage: Apr 1 (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 30, peaking late May (roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), native wildflowers)
• Fall flow: Oct 16 to Oct 31 (fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster))
• Season ends: Oct 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of St. Marie, 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 20.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, native wildflowers, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), alfalfa, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red; amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), native wildflowers, dandelion; light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Millet: about 27 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Alfalfa: about 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi NW, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Peas: about 39 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi W, blooms late May – early Jul (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 St. Marie

Mostly: Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie; Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Herbaceous; Northern & Central Plains Ruderal & Planted Grassland.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.11 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.17 mi W.

How St. Marie ranks

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

About 77% 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

Glasgow 16 mi · Nashua 20 mi · Hinsdale 27 mi · Fort Peck 28 mi · Opheim 31 mi · Frazer 32 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 St. Marie (48.4053, -106.4985); 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.